Where do we go from here?
by halinar
Summary: Look! An update! No, really! A visitor brings a lot of news that sparks events. Lindsey returns with the powerful hand, the Council wants words with Wesley and Angel and Spike hav to settle differences in order to save lives! After Orpheus
1. Disclaimers and Stuff

**WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE…..Disclaimers and stuff**

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Author:  Halina Renata  
Title:  Where do we go from here?   
Disclaimer:  Don't sue! I'm a lowly writer indulging in the Jossverse!   
Rating:  PG-13-ish  
Feedback:  Much appreciated!  
Summary:  A visitor brings a lot of news that sparks events. Lindsey returns with the powerful hand, the Council wants words with Wesley and Angel and Spike hav to settle differences.

Timing:  Completely! AU in Orpheus but not quite in the end of it. Kind of set after Faith and Angel has had their little talk on the balcony.

Angel Season 4 has definitely been the best of all the Seasons so far but even I thought to myself that there were certain bits I didn't like. I loved all of it up to Orpheus really.

Quite frankly, as much as "Evil Cordy" was interesting, I didn't like the whole Jasmine issue so she's out of this particular story and I'm creating my own kind of apocalypse and end to Season 4. Evil baby still exists but it's going to be a different kind of thing…if you get what I mean.

So in this, Willow and Faith will still be around before heading back to Sunnydale. Several visitors come: One is Lindsey, who after having left Wolfram and Hart several years ago, has returned with his "Evil Hand" which now has an added surprise to it. That you can find out within the story.

Also, Spike will return for a little while. You're just going to have to imagine that in Buffy 7x14—First Date, where Spike says he should probably go, Buffy says yes, but only for a little whole. Sorry all you Spuffy Shippers out there!! Don't worry, I'm not pairing Spike off with anyone, he remains with Buffy but temporarily finds himself in LA.

The whole story revolves around the coming Apocalypse different to the real Angel Season 4 Apocalypse. We leave off right from where Angel has been re-ensouled and now we have an evil which we shall all be familiar with….

Dun, dun, dun!!!

Oh well, onto the actual story. I've bored you enough. Reviews would be much appreciated. Any comments, any suggestion and any advice. I'm up for anything except flames because it's about writing, giving off talent and letting others enjoy, not dissing.


	2. Prologue

Where do we go from here: PROLOGUE

_Chapter summary—a visitor comes to the Hyperion warning Wesley of a danger that is coming and Cordelia ponders over another move to continue her "evil plans." _

"Is it cleaned up?" Angel asked quietly coming down the stairs. The lobby was deathly silent. Rain pattered for once outside but other than that, there was no other sound. Only Wesley was downstairs in the lobby, cleaning up the remains of the spell that Willow had cast earlier. The stones, candles and books had been left on the table after the excitement of Angel and Faith's return.

Wesley let himself clean it up. Both Willow and Faith were extremely tired and Angel had offered them a room in the Hyperion for when they left the next morning. "Not all of it," Wesley answered as he closed the books and put the stones back into the special Willow kept for them. "Won't be long. I'd have thought you'd be asleep by now after everything that's happened."

Angel smiled slightly. "You know, the whole creature of the night thing."

Wesley sighed. "Yes, sorry. I suppose my brain is slightly off balance at the moments. After effects of having worked so hard these past weeks are finally taking their toll…" He stopped and looked how Angel held back on the stairs, watching Wesley from a distance. "Angel, you don't need to stand there. I'm not afraid of you."

Angel shook his head. "I know. I'm just afraid. Of myself."

"As Angel you are completely harmless."

Angel shrugged. "Am I? God, I don't know. I just feel…like everyone is now judging me. I can see how they are all wary of me. Fred…I told her the first time, when I pretended I was Angel again that I wouldn't hurt her and it was all a lie. I could've killed her."

"_Angelus could have killed her. But he didn't. Just be thankful for that. Now come down. You're not of any use standing up on the stairs watching me."_

Angel came down and stood next to Wesley, watching him as he cleared up the counter until there was nothing left. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and silence returned to the office again. It seemed funny how two people, capable talking about almost anything had suddenly found nothing to say to each other. Angel had to admit, Wesley had changed over the last months. He didn't think Wesley was capable of half the things he had been during the time of Angelus.

"Were you afraid?" Angel asked and Wesley turned to him. "When Angelus was around…when he could have killed you, several times, and yet he didn't."

Wesley laughed bitterly. "It was my idea to let him out in the first place, Angel. I felt guilty at first and rather embarrassed that nothing good was coming out of it when you were in the cage. Then when you came out of the cage—I admit, I got frightened and very wary. But I thought, considering it was my idea to bring you out. And when you were going to kill me…" He turned around. "Maybe we shouldn't go into that."

Angel looked at him. "I know why you're acting like this, Wes. You're not afraid of me, that I can smell and sense on you. Is this about Li…"

"It has nothing to do with her," Wesley answered sharply.

"I think it does." Wesley began to walk away. "I didn't kill her, Wes." The other man stopped walking and turned around, a quizzical expression on his face. "I know what it looked like back there. I know I was…feeding off, Lilah but she was already dead when I was there. That much I know."

Wesley's eyebrows rose as a hope surged through him. Angel had been right; he was not scared of him. But he was worried about having to think that the man he was looking at was the one person who had killed another love in his life. All right, admittedly, Lilah was not a love. It had been an infatuation, a brief intoxication, but she didn't need to die and certainly not like that. Wesley bore the guilt of her death, even now. "So, if Angelus didn't kill her then who did…the Beast?"

Angel shrugged. "Quite possibly. It wouldn't surprise me although I don't know how he got in unnoticed. Any suggestions?"

Wesley shook his head. "Right now, I am too tired to think of any suggestions whatsoever. What I would like to, however, is get some sleep, something you should do, possibly. Even for a vampire you look worn out."

"Can't sleep," Angel muttered and Wesley looked at him again questioningly. "Burdens. I'm feeling the pain again…all that guilt of what I've done." He smiled slightly. "It's something that'll keep you awake at night." Wesley nodded in understanding. He could relate to some burdens. Obviously, they were not as deep and bad as Angel's but he had some difficult situations to deal with. That he understood. Angel did cross a thin line and he didn't want to push him over too fast. He smiled and began to turn around when the door opened.

Their first thoughts were that visitors should not been here. If there were, it usually meant trouble and at this point in time, trouble seemed to be very frequent. What with the coming apocalypse and goodness knows how many other horrors were preparing to stand in their way. As they turned round, though, a very much different sight awaited them, still, one they could have done without.

"Justine," Angel said after a few moments, taking in the sight of the woman, standing on the top of the stairs of the Hyperion. She looked back at them, wordlessly but still didn't make a move. To Wesley and Angel, she didn't seem that much different. Her strawberry blond hair was wet from the rain, as were her denim clothes but other than that, she looked fine. A few old cuts on her face were marks of battles but there were no fresh wounds. "What are you doing here?" Angel asked, trying not to sound too impolite, although the bitterness couldn't be helped.

"Believe me, I don't want to be here," she replied, coming down the stairs, glaring at Angel but deliberately avoiding Wes, scared of what he might say or do. "But when several bright lights start shining at you and suddenly all the vampires you're hunting magically turn to dust, I began to wonder."

"What, so you decided come down here and retell us of your travels," Wesley remarked sarcastically. "Oh, maybe you'd like to ask for our help in the process."

Angel looked over at him and shook his head. He had personal problems with Justine as well, as Wesley. She may have slit his throat and taken Conner, but it was his son that she had handed over to Holtz allowing them to disappear into another dimension. Yes, he had great reason to be angry with her, although, he didn't let it show as much as Wesley. "What's wrong, Justine. Why did you feel to come here?"

Justine sniffed from the cold outside and sat down on the banquet in the hotel lobby. Wesley walked over to the other side of the table not wanting to be anywhere near her but the stony expression remained.

"Two days ago I was down near the docks. I'd found a vampire nest there 'cause ever since I'd managed to break free—" She glared at Wesley—"I've still been hunting vampires. No matter how _special _you think you are, Angel, vampires do still deserve to be dusted…but anyway, I was down by the docks, taking out this nest. The odds didn't look good on my part and just as I thought things would go from bad to worse they literally disappeared as dust."

"And the sun hadn't come up?" Wesley asked.

Justine looked over at him. "Yeah, I took them out in full sunlight," she remarked sarcastically then returned to normal. "I don't know, it was weird…like spontaneous demon dusting or whatever the alternative is. They just disappeared and this weird light appears from nowhere at me. I thought I was in heaven or something."

"Then what?"

Justine laughed slightly. "Then what? This bit's better than the vampires dusting themselves. I suddenly get this full blown headache as a picture slideshow is forced through my head. That reminds me, do you have any aspirin."

Wesley and Angel looked at each other, the same thing crossing their minds. "A vision?" Angel asked out loud. "As in, it was like a warning. Something that was going to happen in the future?"

Justine nodded. "Yeah, something like that. It was horrible. It was all about death and destruction. I saw dead people everywhere and mystical forces. I'm not sure what it all means…"

"It means there's an apocalypse coming," Angel answered and Justine looked at him quizzically. "We had a few problems lately. All of them have been leading onto an apocalypse." He stopped, not wanting to release any more information. Justine just nodded silently and didn't say anything more but Angel gathered there was something she was now telling him. At the moment, it seemed that now was not the time to pressure her into anything that she didn't particularly want. "So what about the visions?" 

"Excuse me? Visions?" asked Justine. "I didn't ask for this. I don't even know what it is!"

"It means you're a seer," Wesley answered, round the desk and informing her. "It means you are a messenger from the Powers That Be to lead Angel into the battles of good. You see the visions of people that need help and tell it to us and we go and deal with them."

Justine shook her head. "Screw you…again. I'm not being a messenger to a vampire with an unbeating heart of gold. I gave you my little message but if you expect me to sit here and be your little slave girl again, then you got another thing coming." She stomped towards the doorway. "Don't go looking for me. There is serious evil coming. I don't know why it's been given to me but I told you. Stop whatever's coming or else there won't be any good left in this world." She slammed the door behind her and walked off.

Angel sighed unsurprised by Justine's attitude then looked over at Wes. "That was brief. Did you keep her as a slave girl?"

"In a closet. With a bucket."

"The treatment didn't really work on her attitude."

Wes shrugged. "I wasn't teaching her about attitude. I needed her to find you all those months ago. She was well looked after, I assure you." He smiled at him and then turned serious. "The Powers That Be are certainly making their actions very vague. Why have they just erected another seer—another vision girl? What has happened to Cordelia?"

Angel looked blankly at Wes, even more confused. "I have no idea why the Powers have abandoned her. I don't even know if that means she still has the visions or we just have both of them. Or maybe Justine is a replacement?"

"Maybe this is her Redemption?" Wesley suggested. "There's too many possibilities. We'll dwell on them later. I'd like to go back to my apartment before any other interesting issues arise."

*  *  *  *  *

Cordy sat up in bed again, frowning. Time and time again, she thought about the plan she had failed to do. She couldn't believe that she hadn't killed Willow right there and then when she had come to renensoul Angelus. Now her pet beast was killed, the good vampire was back and her all her plans seemed to have sunk into the floor. It filled her with anger. She had tried so hard to prevent the meddling witch's powers and she could have defeated her, had Conner not distracted her.

Even her plans for Conner to kill Angelus had failed due to the Slayer. Cordy shook with anger and plunged her fists into the sheets hoping that she could burn a hole right through it. Who dared to thwart her plans, even though they were intentional? Cordy was still happy at the thought that she was still one step ahead of them. At least they still had no idea that she was the mastermind behind all of the work.

"Conner, it's fine!" she cried out to the bathroom. Conner came back out, closing the bathroom door behind him and still looking around. "God, for a teenager you sure do take a lot upon yourself. Stop fidgeting, it's making me nervous."

"I'm just making sure there's nothing in here. If that floaty head comes back, I'm gonna kill it." He drew out a sharp bladed sword, shining from tip to hilt. "The witch is still here and so is Faith, so we'll still be safe."

Cordy sunk further down into the covers. "Yes, safe. This whole hotel seems to be full of championing warriors. Angel, Willow, Faith…you."

"Are you saying that's bad?" Conner asked, turning around to look at her. "I'm only doing this to protect us and the baby. It's what it's all about isn't it? We need all the help we can get to make sure nothing gets into this hotel…or I'm just going to shred everything to pieces…"

Cordy smiled happily. "My sweet boy. I'm so glad that that you're taking up the responsibility."

"We need all the champions," Conner continued, setting down the sword and sitting in a chair. "And you wanted me to kill Angelus. He was already Angel when I got down there. Willow's spell had worked. And I got another beating by the slayer."

"Ignore them!" Cordelia snapped. "They're not all as strong as they look really. I thought I was right about Angelus but obviously not. Everybody is safe again and all that matters is protecting the baby. Don't worry, Conner, everything is going to be fine. You have nothing to worry about."

Conner stood up. "It's last midnight. I'm going off to kill some vampires."

Cordelia nodded. "All right, be careful!" she called as he walked out of the door. "I still need you." As the door closed behind him, she took out a knife and groaned in frustration. "Somehow, they are going to die. I don't know how but I can't have so many champion ruling over Las Vegas. One by one, they shall die, starting with the Witch and the Slayer." 

*  *  *  *  *

_One Year Ago…_

Lindsey McDonald sat at a bar in Chicago. He'd left the hectic life of Wolfram and Hart to lead something more peaceful. His Evil Hand issues had led him to discover that Wolfram and Hart was probably not the best job for him. He was still too indecisive and did have the occasional ability to back away from his job and refer to the "good side," whichever that one was. It had taken him a long time to realize that Angel was right and a lot of sacrifices in the process—one of which being his hand.

"Can I have another?" he asked the bartender lazily as he watched the empty glass being filled with another beer. He didn't particularly want to be intoxicated but he didn't want to be particularly coherent either. Being on the borderline of sane and insane was good for him at the moment. That meant he didn't have to worry about life's little troubles.

Because at the moment, life's little troubles meant finding somewhere to stay at the moment. His cousin was trying to find him somewhere but at the moment there was no luck. He was sleeping at his cousins' apartment at the moment, hoping to move on at some point. Lindsey wondered if he was just going to travel around America for the rest of his life. He'd told Angel he was going to "explore his roots." Was that even an option any more?

"Bar's closing in about fifteen minutes," the bar tender told him. "You'll have to get on your way afterwards."

"Why?" Lindsey looked at his watch. "It's only ten to eleven."

Bar tender shrugged. "So? You look almost gone as it is and it ain't safe for people to be around after hours these days in the streets…especially not by themselves. You should get yourself a cab and head back to wherever you're staying. Don't talk home, no matter how far it is."

"Why?" Lindsey asked again.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Strange things are happening here. Things that no one has seen before. Strange deaths and markings…."

"Vampires?" Lindsey asked before he could stop the sentence from coming out of his mouth.

The bartender raised his eyebrows. "You know about it? You're one of the only few that does? I know myself because I dabble in the underworld a bit but other people, they're refusing to believe it. I've heard of a lot of deaths because of folks who go out and end up dead the next day because they got bit by a vampire. Some poor people were even turned."

"I didn't know Chicago was threatened so much by Vampires," Lindsey said, drowning the last of his beer.

The bartender leaned forward. "They're not. But there is some kind of force at work at the moment. Vampires and demons alike have been feeling it around. I don't know what it is but I don't like the sound of it. They say the vampires are just temporarily passing through here on their way to somewhere. I hope they pass out quickly."

Lindsey put his beer down. "Thanks," he said distractedly.

"Watch your back, kid!"

Lindsey reached into his pocket and pulled out a stake. "I dabble a bit in the underworld too. Don't worry; I'm not going to be on any vampire's menu."

"Glad to hear it," the bartender answered, watching the lawyer go out of the bar and into the streets. Lindsey was prepared with his stake. He always carried one around now just in case he should meet anyone he didn't like of the vampire kind. As far as demons went, that was all he could beat at the moment. He wasn't looking for trouble but it worried him that Wolfram and Hart might get a demon to pull him back into the office again unwillingly.

He headed back to his cousin's house which was only a few blocks away so he only walked, his hand clamped around the chequered pocket of his jacket. He looked around and was amazed that the streets were empty but if people were really worried about the killings then they would hide. He'd read the newspaper of "serial killer" running around killing people, but never connected it with vampires.

He knocked on the door. "Keith, open up, I'm home."

He half expected his cousin to shove him out and tell him to come back when he wasn't drunk. Keith was so particular like that. And Lindsey knew he dabbled a bit in the underworld too but magic was more his thing. He had books upon books of spells and incantations, most of which he was afraid to try in case something went terribly wrong. He had read of disaster which came about the complicated spells so he stuck to simple ones.

No one answered his knock, though, in any way. "Keith! Come on, I'm not drunk. Just…fulfilled."

A bright light came from underneath the door, where obviously something was shining from the inside. Then came a shout, which sounded more like a long and painful scream and then Lindsey began to get worried. The yellow light changed to a green and he moved forwards opening the door in and instant. What happened afterwards he wasn't particularly sure? He was standing at the door and next, he was against the wall of the corridor, on his back, the darkness enclosing him. Voices surrounded him.

"What happened to him?" someone asked, sounding like Keith.

"I think the energy from the spell has somehow engulfed itself in him."

"What!" someone shouted. "How?"

"Because he walked through the door in the midst's of our spell." There was a sigh. "You should be worried, Keith. Such energy went into him with a lot of force it could probably kill him or paralyse him. He seems very incoherent now."

There was the sound of a scuffle. Lindsey could feel himself slipping away already. His chest hurt and his lungs felt very tight. He felt as thought he should be suffocating and dying…but soon he noticed he was and began panicking.

"Fix it!" someone said. "What can I do?"

"You can't put more energy onto him to release it. You can't do a spell. But you can give him energy?"

"How?"

Lindsey was aware of someone kneeling down next to him and clasping his right hand. He wanted to pull away but the spell on him prevented that. He was paralysed. Lindsey hated anyone touching his right hand in fear of it doing something to them. The Evil Hand was unpredictable but although he had managed to control it and communicate it on a level, he was uncertain. As he held the person's hand, though, he was aware of a new sensation. A sensation of power, whereby he felt stronger, the pressure on his chest was released and he could move.

In a few minutes, he found himself sitting up against the wall with his cousin and several other people looking at him. They had all looked extremely worried but Lindsey was just confused. He looked down at his right hand which was now unclasped but to his amazement, glowing a strange green.

"What's happening," he demanded, his eyes looking at him in anger. "What have you done to me!" He grabbed Keith's arm and before he knew what had happened, Keith's shirt began to go on fire. "What's happening?"


	3. Signs

Where do we go from here: SIGNS

_Chapter summary—Willow and Faith prepared to return to Sunnydale; Lindsey tries to find out what has happened to him and Angel meets an old friend of his whilst trying to find out some information._

Morning in LA. It had not been long since the sun had returned, the vampires had retreated and some form of order returned to the busy city. Of course, no one had no idea what had caused the current strange phenomena—earthquakes, rains of fire, endless darkness…Fortune tellers and astrologist dived in at the possibilities for telling futures and predicting what would happen next. The pessimists all believed that the end of the world was coming and they were not far off really. 

Faith looked around the room as she put her boots on. Most of the clothes she had were either bloodstained beyond cleanable or torn to pieces by various vampires, Beasts and more to the point, Angelus. Since staying in LA for the past few days after Angel's return, she'd gone out at night for Slayer Patrol, sometimes with Conner although it was evident the stubborn teenager preferred to work alone. Faith could deal with that. She didn't want to say it to Angel's face but she hated the little brat. He was obnoxious, bad tempered and…

'Faith?' Willow asked, appearing at the doorway, noticing how as Faith got angrier with each thought of Conner, she would tie her laces more savagely. 'Are you okay? You look a bit…well, stressed is probably the right word.'

'No kiddin',' Faith answered sighing and flopping back on the bed. 'It's just all this, I haven't got off the tension yet. You go out, you dust a few vampires and it doesn't really make you feel better.'

Willow nodded understandingly and with her hands together, walked towards her on the bed. 'Buffy gets that way sometimes, when she's stressed, or got work on her mind, or got boy trouble…she goes out on patrol but doesn't come back any better. I guess, as a Slayer you don't really get that much…." She paused and thought again for the right word…"Well, release."

Faith sighed. 'It's just things here are so different…it's not like it was before, and major from what you've say back in Sunnydale. I mean, Angel's different, he has a kid, who's a little fucker, Cordy…well, what can I say, and Wesley, if anyone's changed more it's him."

Willow agreed. "I know, he does seem very different—desolate—almost kind of lonely." She shrugged. "But I get the feeling he doesn't want to talk about it. We shouldn't probably leave it." There was silence for a moment and the red headed witch looked at Faith. "What's wrong? My little witchy itch tells me there's something more to it than changes."

Faith put her hands together and leaned forward. "Yeah, not so much changing but what's stayed the same. I…I don't know if Buffy will want to talk to me. So much has happened. Prison…it's like being stuck in time whilst everything else has been moving around you.'

The witch leaned forward and met her. 'Faith, I know this is hard, and I know that you're probably scared a bit. But you don't need to worry. All you need to be is yourself. You're coming to fight another bad evil and whether Buffy likes it or not, you're going to have to get along to do this. This evil could literally destroy the whole world. It's…it's the _reason _for evil. Buffy needs all the help she can get.'

Faith nodded. 'Well, I intend to put up a hell of a fight, if that helps.'

Willow smiled brightly. 'That's the attitude. You'll soon find out what to what and not say. Now, come on, get your bags or anything you have. We're going to be going soon. Angel managed to get us a car.'

Faith watched her leave for the door and tried to say something. Emotional talking never really came easy for her but she needed to try and it seemed like a good opportunity. "Willow?" The witch turned around. "Hey, I know that things have happened before—between you and me, Buffy and me, _Angel _and me…but do people hate me. Do _you _hate me?"

Willow stood by the door. "It's not about hate, Faith. No, I don't hate you. I know things have happened. But what you've done here since coming out of prison has proven to me that you can be a good person. You can be rehabilitated and you do have your priorities. It just took a while coming and I'll stand beside you when I know that you're right.'

'Thanks, Will.' Willow closed the door and left, leaving Faith still sitting on the bed. After a few minutes of thoughtful thinking she got up and headed downstairs herself to see what was going on. Life within the Hyperion seemed very quiet and desolate at the moment. Willow was talking to Fred, obviously in deep conversation about something. Angel was in the office, studying something. Cordelia, as usual, was nowhere in sight. Gunn was cleaning out weapons in the cabinet. And further off to the side sat Wesley, going through an ancient text of some kind. Somehow, talking to Wes seemed easier than it used to be now that he had his own tortured soul now.

'Hey,' she said, talking over to him and turning a chair backwards to sit on it.

Wes looked up from his book. 'Hey,' he said himself. 'Had a good sleep.'

Faith smiled at him. 'You ask this every time I get up in the morning and it's always the same—yeah, I slept well only the occasional dream that keeps on swinging back and fourth in my head like a bowling ball.'

'Since when did bowling balls swing?'

'Since I made them.' Faith smiled, slightly embarrassed by Wesley's confused gaze. The man may have changed a lot for the better but sometimes he could be completely oblivious to certain things. Faith looked down to the text he was reading. 'What you studying?'

'An Archaic form of the Dianshu Language. They were…mystical priests who specialized in the occult. I'm trying to see whether it can be of any help to us in finding the Beast's Master.'

'Oh, are we looking for that now. Never a dull moment at Angel Investigations. What, did they write prophecies or something?'

Wesley nodded. 'Sometimes. Some of them were seers that could see into the future, many of them wizards in fact.' He shut the book and rubbed his eyes. 'And strangely enough, it seems as though there's nothing in there that can help us.' He looked at her for a moment, feeling rather awkward. Then quietly, 'What time are you leaving?'

Faith shrugged. 'Sometime in the evening probably. I'm not quite sure what Will over there has decided and she looks too busy for me to distract her…'

Faith was cut off by the sound of Angel coming out of the office and slamming the door behind him. Gunn jumped from cleaning the weapons. He turned round to look at him. 'Nothing coming, huh?'

'There is no reference to such a thing anywhere. Even pan-dimensionally, what we can find that has ever made contact with the Beast, even when it was banished, has all been lost somehow. Lost, or never existed and I don't know which is worse. It's all hopeless.'

Willow looked up. 'Maybe you could try and Mystical Translocation Spell?'

Wesley shook his head. 'No, that wouldn't work. We don't know what the Master is. It could be a demon, it could be human, and it might even be some kind of supernatural form, it's impossible to tell.'

The door opened to the lobby and Lorne came down the stairs, smiling brightly. They all turned to look at him and he lost the smile on his face. 'Jeez, who died and forgot to tell me?' he asked. 'No luck with the books, then? Well, I got new that'll cheat all you beating—or in your case un-beating—hearts a flutter, kiddos. Two things actually. One, my mojo mind reading ability has returned.'

Fred jumped up smiling. 'Really, how?'

'By the power of magic and a really useful telephone number that Cordy kept for emergencies and deals with these kinds of things. It's amazing the amount of trash you keep in this office, Angelcakes. But secondly, I think I might have someone that'll help you with your little overseer of evil problem.'

'What, the Master?' Angel asked.

'Uh huh. It's a demon…a mind reading one such as myself who happens to see more than a batchful on a good day. Here's the address and…' he stopped as Angel grabbed the address from out of his hand and already walked out the door without a word. The others watched but made no comment. Lorne simply shrugged. 'Oh well. Do we have any more of that tropical fruit juice left? I could really use a mild drink.

*  *  *  *  *

_One Year Ago…_

They sat Lindsey down in a chair. He was still in shock. Not only had his hand set fire to his cousin's shirt but it still hadn't stopped glowing. Someone handed him a drink and he was glad to see it was still alcohol. "What happened?" he asked dumbly. "I don't remember anything that happened." There had bee a door…light…and suddenly he found himself flying in the air only to ram against a wall and find his hand glowing.

Keith looked as perplexed as him. He had taken his shirt off the minute he had caught alight and dressed up in a new one. 'I have no idea. He was performing a ritual, something a little stronger than usual to find out why the vampires were all flocking here. It had been on the agenda and we decided to do it tonight. But you opened the door and all the energy transferred to you.'

'Then why?'

The other occultists just looked at Lindsey and his hand. They found it equally as fascinating but kept their distance except one who spoke up and carried on from where Keith left off. 'We had another person in our group today. He was new and claimed he could help. Even before we joined hands, I could sense that there was something different about him. He was very powerful. He is someone who could…well potentially do a black-out would be the least amount of damage he could do that was critical.'

'Was he the one that held my hand?' Lindsey asked quietly

The occultist nodded. 'I don't know who he is. None of us did. He just wanted to help he said and we agreed. The more than formed the circle for the spell the better and he gave us a lot of the energy.'

'Where is he?' Lindsey demanded, standing up.

Keith shrugged. 'We have no idea, Lindsey. He ran off, just after he finished with you. God knows what he's done to you.'

The occultist looked at him. 'He's given you power, the kind of power that he has. I can feel it in you, Lindsey. You have suddenly become a very powerful person—the ability flows in you.'

Lindsey stood up. 'I don't want that kind of ability. I don't want power. That's what drove me out of my own job. I want nothing to do with anything weird except dusting a few vampires because that's all I know. Everything else can go to hell.' Lindsey got up and put his hands to his temples. His right hand had calmed down now and no longer glowed but he wanted to get rid of it. 'Where can I find him? I need to talk to him?'

Keith pulled out a card from his pocket. 'He gave us an address just before he left in such a hurry. You can go there if you want although I don't advise you to.'

'I'm going,' Lindsey said firmly, putting on his jacket and glaring at his cousin, daring him to defy him. Sighing in defeat, Keith handed him the card.

'Be careful.'

'I have a stake, it can kill anything.' With that Lindsey walked out of the door again, looking at his hand again, expecting it to suddenly glow again and do something weird. He tried to get to this man as soon as possible in case he did some real damage. He saw a few potential vampires but so far they were doing no damage and at the moment, he didn't care for their damage. He cared about the damage done to him.

His investigation to the man led him to a series of apartments. His number was 107 so Lindsey headed up, knocking on the door. It was silent inside and there seemed no light coming from it. He knocked again. 'Hello?' he asked. 'Is anyone home?'

'It's open,' a man replied, sounding incredibly weak, and he coughed once. Lindsey didn't know whether the voice sounded familiar. He was too far out of it beforehand to notice his voice.

Lindsey opened the door to a very shabby apartment. A small lamp glowed in the corner and an old large TV was switched off. There was a man on a torn couch, leaning over as though he was about to be sick. Perspiration dripped from his forehead and for a moment, Lindsey was stunned. He rushed over to the man. 'What happened?' he asked. 'Did someone do this to you?'

The man shook his head. He seemed young, only in his mid thirties and yet suddenly, in the pain he looked much younger. He smiled slightly. 'No, no one did this to me. I did it to myself.'

'What? Why?'

'You know why,' the man answered, gasping in pain for a moment and Lindsey clutched his shoulders. The man nodded towards his hand on the shoulder. 'That is the reason.'

Lindsey paused for a moment. 'So you were the one that did this to me? You gave me this power!' Before he knew it, he found himself standing up and shouting. 'Why did you do this to me? I didn't ask for it. This hand has been through enough in a short space of time to manage anything more!' He shook with anger, despite the fact that the man was in obvious pain. 

'Let me explain, I don't have a lot of time,' the man replied quietly. Lindsey found the man's words so sincere that it pained him as well. 'The power that I have…had…is a very old ancient kind of power. I don't know what it is but it has been passed down from century to century, through old monks in Chinese Dynasty to people. It was first used to revive a human. It's an incredible power, one that Evil would kill to get their hands on.'

'Why did you give it to me?'

'You were going to die,' the man answered. 'That was beyond a doubt. I could sense it. The power that you have can tell you a lot of things. It can do incredible damage, small or big and it gives you a sense. I could sense that you were going to die and you have a great amount of potential. You're on a redemption mission and sometimes people need help along the way.'

Lindsey shook his head. 'I don't want it. Take it back!'

The smile smiled weakly. 'I can't. Only you can do that.'

Lindsey grabbed the man's hand, holding it hard between his own. He waited for something, a sensation? A feeling of energy rushing out of him? The other man's hand to start glowing but nothing. Nothing happened to take it away. The other man started laughing.

'It doesn't work like that kid. Well, you got the holding hand part right but that's about it. It takes practise to work it. I only had it for three years and it took me a while to master. You'll get there eventually. Don't underestimate it. It's not a curse; it can bring you a great deal of joy and fulfilment. You can do great things with it.'

'I want to do it my own way.'

The man shook his head. 'It's help. Trust me, you'll understand at some point that I have given you great help.'

Lindsey shook his head in disbelief. 'Why sacrifice yourself? Why give up your life to give this power to me?'

'You rely on the power now. It keeps you alive. Draining it from you into someone else is so exhausting and it's like your battery has run out. I didn't need the power anymore. I didn't need it anyway. It was only given to me because someone was about to die. He didn't want the power to die with him or be lost. It has to be passed down to me. Now I pass it onto you because you have a reason.'

Lindsey sighed. 'What am I supposed to do with it?'

'Do good with it! It's a good power, not an evil one, unless it finds its way into the wrong hands.' He nodded out of the window. "That abandoned house across there, is a nest full of vampires that arrived last night. Use your power to kill them, destroy the building or whatever. The power can defend, attack or heal.'

Lindsey walked towards the window and stared at the building. 'How?'

'Focus.'

'How am I supposed to focus? I don't understand what that means. You…you're talking in code to me or something, just…." Lindsey turned round to look at the man and his eyes widened. He was lying on the couch, his eyes open. Lindsey rushed to check the pulse when he suddenly realized, he could already tell the man was dead and it wasn't just through his eyes. It was through a sense. 'This is beginning to feel like the Sixth Sense itself. Next I'll see dead people.'

Lindsey turned towards the building. He had no idea whether this was going to work but he needed some kind of proof. He braced himself and held out his right hand. His sleeve lifted, revealing the faint scar where the operation had taken place. He took a deep breath and stared at the building opposite where the vampires supposedly were.

"Focus,' Lindsey said. 'Focus on what? The building? The power?' He extended his hand out towards the building and imagined it falling to the ground. It was the first thing he could think of and as he stared intently at the building, his hand began to glow again and he stared in shock. He began to lift it back down in shock but then, something shot out of it, a bright white light, that shot across the street and to the other building.

He cried out in surprise and jumped back. His hand had stopped glowing, but the building opposite was now on fire. Already, people had begun shouting and screaming inside. He even saw a vampire turn to dust near a window. Lindsey frowned. 'Well, setting it on fire wasn't quite what I had in mind. I think it may need a little bit of practise.'

*  *  *  *  *

Angel threw the demon to the ground, glaring at it. 'I don't care what came to you,' he said threatening. 'I don't care if all of hell is opening and threatens to open you up. All I care is to find out about the Beasts Master, no matter what it means, and what it can do.'

'It's evil,' the demon replied.

Angel carried on moving forward. 'That, I got. What I don't' get, is who he is and what he plans to do. That's what I really want to find out. Lorne says that you're the only one that can help me.'

The demon's eyes widened as he looked at him. 'Lorne sent you?' the demon asked and got to his feet. He rolled his eyes in exasperation. 'Why didn't you fucking say so in the first place? Here I am, thinking Angelus had come to kill me and you say Lorne had sent you. God, people are right when they say you're cryptic.' He brought out a cigarette lighter and lit himself one. 'Scared the daylights out of me.'

Angel looked puzzled at him for a moment and then rolled his eyes himself. 'Fine, sorry I didn't mention it beforehand.'

'Do you know hard it is to keep up this 'I don't know anything, don't kill me' act. I do it almost every day to random vampires and demons that want things. If you had said Lorne sent you, we could have avoided this whole fist in my face thing. I think I'm gonne bruise for ages."

Angel could see how he and Lorne got along. 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. I've been very stressed lately with this whole thing. Can you just tell me what you know and I'll just disappear.'

The demon nodded. 'Well, there hasn't bee much information surfacing around. Apparently everyone's mind has gone a-blank. But from my ability, I've seen that you're going to have your hands full. A second evil is going to come. If they bind together, it's going to make your life a living hell.'

Angel sighed. 'Great. That's just what I needed. What about the master.'

'It's pissed off. Majorly. I don't mean the whole, "oh you stole my best friend" sort of hate. I mean, "You killed my friend, I'm gonna kill you." It wants to cause more trouble for you than ever before and if you're not careful, it's going to go for your friends.'

'What kind of evil is it?'

'I don't know. 'That I haven't seen. All I know is that it's going to be very close to home, for your friends anyway. Be careful. Any signs of a second evil then stop it.'

'Easier said than done.' Angel handed him a few dollar bills. 'Thanks.' He walked out through the sewers to get back to the Hyperion in time and tell everyone to be on the their guard. As he went along though, he smelt something. To him it smelt very familiar but he couldn't quite place it. Then he smelt the faint smell of cigarette smoke and followed the trail through the sewers. He quietly crept towards the edge of a corner and prepared to strike.

He whirled around and caught the other person by what he presumed was the throat. The sewers were dark and he could barely see. He made an attack which was blocked, and then blocked the other one back and the silent fighting continued for a moment until Angel realized something. The person had no heartbeat; he knew all of his attacks and smelled familiar…

…'Spike?' he asked quietly, feeling his temper beginning to boil.

'Oh look who it is, the bloody ponce.'

'What the hell are you doing…?' Angel paused and cocked his head to the side. In the darkness, so did Spike. 'Did you hear that?' It sounded like a creaking noise from somewhere. Then the ground started to shake and rattle before them. 'Earthquake!' No sooner than he said it then the rumbling and tremors got worse that none of them could keep their balance and toppled to the floor. Angel looked up as he saw parts of the sewer, including a trap full of stakes and swords, falling right towards their path.


	4. The Prophecy

Where do we go from here: THE PROPHECY

Normally, Angel had a sixth sense about things. He didn't really sense the stakes and chains coming flying towards him. And normally, he could move out of the way in time before they fell but the combination of Spike there with him, taking him by surprise and the idea of stakes falling towards him shocked him for a moment and he forgot what to do. If he carried on it would be too late. So he was even more surprise to suddenly feel himself being propelled to the side, rolling along the dusty floor, landing out of harms way.

The stakes, chains and other weapons landed harmlessly on the floor beside them, sending up dust, but thankfully, not them.

Angel looked to the side of him. Spike was already beginning to get up and groaning, complaining about the state of his jacket. Angel looked on in confusion. "Did you…did you just do that?" he asked, frowning slightly, looking from the stakes to Spike.

Spike shrugged. "Well yeah. What did you think, some bleedin' forces of good would stop you from getting killed." He pulled out a cigarette to light. "Not bloody likely. Don't worry, I don't expect any thanks from you, so you can save yourself the trouble of fakin' it."

Now Angel got to his feet and brushed himself down. He didn't know what to say. He was grateful to Spike for saving his life but now it seemed wrong to thank him for it. He looked around the tunnels. Spike remained where he was, not moving but simply smoking. "Like the décor," he murmured. "Please don't tell me this is where you live, Angelus. Crypts always worked nice for the likes of us."

Angel rolled his eyes. He grabbed Spike by the scruff of the neck and pushed him forward to the entrance of the tunnel. "Hey!" the younger vampire protested.

"Shut up," Angel replied. "First off, I'm not Angelus. He's gone again and he's not going to come back if I can help it. Secondly, I'm you sire and no matter how many decades you've spent rampaging on your own, I still own you and you still obey me. Thirdly, I want to know what you're doing here and I still don't trust you, Spiky, so you're coming with me."

Spike laughed bitterly. "Oh how convenient 'cause I was just coming to see you."

Angel let go of his collar. "What? And why did you save me?"

"I haven't _always _been selfish, you know!"

Angel raised his eyebrows. "Err…yes you have." He shook his head. "Anyway, you're coming back to the hotel with us and explain what the hell is going on. I doubt this is just a social visit on your part so come on."

"What hotel?"

"Our headquarters."

"Oh, you brought yourself a hotel now. Well, isn't that nice."

"Shut up, Spike."

*  *  *  *  *

Faith tapped her foot impatiently. "I don't see why we can't just go," she shouted out loud to the office where Wesley was. "I mean if we see any renegade vampires that decide to attack the car we'll just…" She stood up and made a show of staking a vampire and him exploding into pieces.

"As much as I am satisfied with your confidence and eagerness to get back to Sunnydale, we don't know it's safe yet. It's only been a night since Angelus has disappeared. Vampires and demons will be disappearing back to where they came from. Not long now, I assure you."

Faith looked over at Willow to the young witch who just shrugged.

"Don't worry your sweet pumpkin pies about it," Lorne informed, sitting on the banquet, sipping. "He has problems to deal with at the moment, like we all do. Angel's adjusting to his soul hopefully. You've just come from behind those big barred walls and me…I'm still recovering from all my headaches." He rubbed his forehead as if to prove that fact.

Faith looked to the side where Wesley was sitting, going through books. He sighed and pushed one out of the way. Faith frowned and pondered again at the changes that had happened—it had only been what, 3 years since she'd last seen him. He's changed for sure. "What's his deal anyway?" Faith asked casually, trying to show that she didn't give too much of a dam.

"Love," Gunn answered, looking at her from where he was cleaning a weapon on the other side of the lobby.

Faith nodded her head in understanding. "Horrible thing, isn't it," she bitterly. "That's why I don't do that sort of thing anymore."

"Hard, though, for those who have."

"Don't think I can't hear you," Wesley replied stonily from within the office. Faith and Gunn turned to look at each other and grimaced. Neither of them could think of what to say but were thankfully, saved by the door of the Hyperion opening and Angel was standing there.

Wesley came out to see what was going on. He saw Spike and immediately and raised his crossbow. "Wes, don't!" Angel said, coming in and holding his hand out, warning Wes to stop. Wes paused but still remained holding the crossbow. Spike stayed at the entrance, unable to come in but watching the scene below.

"Spike com---"

"Err—Angel, is that such a good idea?" Gunn asked tentatively.

Willow nodded and stood up. "Don't worry, Angel, it's fine."

"Come in, Spike." Spike descended down the stairs, looking at the Hyperion. "Wow, I have to admit, _Angel, this looks much better than the sewers or any crypt that I've been into."_

Angel nodded. "Last I heard, you had a chip."

Spike smiled wickedly. "Chip got removed."

Instantly, the Angel Investigations team were on their feet. Wes already had his crossbow, Gunn picked up an axe, and Faith had her stake and even Lorne helped by picking up an empty bottle of Vodka that was on the table. "No, don't!" Willow cried, jumping in between everyone, only to be grabbed away by Gunn as if to protect her.

"Is that why you came here?" Angel asked. "To hurt us?"

Spike held out his hands. "Whoa. Well, _you should know about hurt Angelus. That's all you're ever good at."_

"And the same to you," Angel replied. "That's all you ever _did._"

"Not anymore!" Spike cried, almost insanely like the thought of hurting people was an insult. "I don't hurt anymore. I can't and it's not got anything to do with the blasted chip! I'm saved, cursed, I have…"

"Oh God," Angel said, his eyes widening. His weapon dropped to the floor. "I knew something was wrong. I could smell something different on you. You have a soul, don't you?"

The others turned to look at Angel and Spike in amazement. Wes turned to look at Willow who was looking very nervous and worried now. "You know," he said the witch. He wasn't accusing her. His voice was neutral but everyone else had failed to notice the witch, who of course, would know all the details.

Willow nodded. "Yeah…I knew," she said, and that all she could say.

"Why?" Angel demanded.

Spike rolled his eyes. "It's got nothing to do with beating you, Angelus. If I had it my way…sod it, it was my way. I _chose this soul, unlike you who had it forced into you, but I see why you wanted to keep it, mate."_

Wes kept looking at Willow who still looked nervous despite the news had been out. She was dreading that something was going to come out and full scale war would explode. Wes decided that that was the last thing they needed at the moment. "Why did you come here, Spike?" Willow shot Wes a grateful look.

"Strange business that," Spike said, coming to sit down on the banquet. Most people had put down their weapons but Gunn was still wary. "I left Sunnydale a few days ago, in search for some…well tranquillity you might say when I came across this demon harbourer. He had some quite interesting papers and quite a few prophecies…I couldn't help looking at the one which was dated three days from today."

"What is it?" Faith demanded.

Spike cleared his throat dramatically as he pulled out the faded piece of paper. "God no idea what it says. It's written in some kind of language but the demon translated it as best as he could for me. It has something to do with a kid, a special kid, cos this kid is the result of two vampires."

"And you linked this to me how?" Angel asked.

Spike laughed. "Well, mate, this is LA. Lots of stuff happens here and when you have never-ending nights, evil vampires and strange things going on, word gets around. And word _really _got round when the first child born of two vampires came about. I could only guess it was you. After all, you're a champion! You're _special," Spike practically spat out._

"Calm your head, firecracker, what does the prophecy say?" Lorne asked.

Spike shrugged. "Dunno. It's in some ancient language, proto something or other. Not even the demon could translate all of it."

"Wes?" Angel asked.

Wes walked into the office with Angel and Spike followed. As he passed Faith he looked at her. The energetic girl looked at him and Spike smiled. "Slayer," he said, as though he was happy.

Faith simply smiled back. "Vampire," she replied in the same way.

Spike went into the office and Faith looked around at the others. Willow had sat back down and was looking at the floor, trying to appear innocent. Gunn was plain confused but he had put his weapon down and Lorne was simply sitting back against his chair, still sipping his Tia Maria.

Conner came down the stairs and looked at them. "What's going on?" he asked broodily and sat down on the bottom stair. "I smell someone new here."

"Don't worry just an old relation of your dad's, spitfire," Faith murmured and looked into the office.

*  *  *  *  *

An hour later, Wes was still in the office, even more books piled out on the desk than before. He'd identified the scroll as an ancient language indeed. Proto-Argencuine, a civilization within South America that had long since been wiped out. Angel, realizing Spike was going to stay a while, was showing him a room up in the Hyperion. Their friendship had been frostily at best but now it seemed like forced pleasantries were the only way to get by.

He heard a knock at the door and looked up, seeing the red headed witch standing there. "Hey there," Willow said. "I thought you might want some help. Don't know how much I could be."

Wesley smiled slightly and shrugged. "Proto-Argencuine?"

Willow raised her eyebrows. "Maybe not. Okay…well, I'll just be the other kind of help. You know, taking books of shelves, making coffee…that sort of thing."

Wesley leaned back and rubbed his eyes. "What's bothering you, Willow? I know it has something to do with Spike being here and my guess it's that Spike and Angel are in close contact with one another. Are you afraid of something?"

Willow sat down in the chair opposite Wesley. "I wanted to thank you. I'm not sure how long it'll last but it stopped a fight for today. Things have been happening in Sunnydale since Angel went. You know…boyfriends, that sort of thing. Only…only lately, the boyfriend hasn't really been one of the breathing kind…again."

"Oh. Are you suggesting what I think?"

"Buffy and Spike…they…they." Willow paused and sighed. "They sort of had a thing."

"A thing?"

"Surely you're Americanised enough to know what a thing is."

Wesley looked down and smiled. "Yes, I think I understand that. Buffy and Spike were…engaged at some point?"

Willow nodded. "This is before he got the soul. And the whole relationship was about as complicated as hers and Angel's. A lot of…moral stuff, you know. They broke up and loved too many times to count. The reason Spike got his soul was for Buffy."

"And you're worried that if Angel found out Buffy and Spike had a…thing…then it would anger Angel, possibly prevent him from concentrating at the matters at hand."

"There's evil coming, Wesley, both of us know that. There's an evil in Sunnydale which has got Buffy all twisted and there's an evil here and from what Angel said the demon said, there's another evil. Things are…complicated. They don't need to be even more complicated."

Wesley sighed and sat back. "Things have been complicated for a long time. I almost regret knowing this information now."

"Why?"

"The only one with the secret in the group is usually the one that gets hurt."

Willow looked at Wesley and then outside. "Something happened, didn't it," she said. "Has it got something to do with the darkness that you had? I found my darkness when…when someone close to me died. I turned evil, tried to destroy the world and all that."

Wesley smiled slightly and looked at the prophecy on the table. "I hate prophecies as well. All that is the reason Conner is the way he is. Most of it is my fault." Willow looked at him questioningly and he knew he couldn't keep it from her. "Last year, there was this prophecy, whilst Conner was still a baby, saying that Angel would kill him. The Father will Kill the Son. And I stupidly told no one, took matters into my own hands, almost got myself killed and Conner turned out the way he is now."

Willow looked at Wesley. "So that's where the scar comes from."

Wesley instinctually put his hand up to his neck and nodded. "Yes."

There was a sigh from the doorway and they turned round. "You can be such an idiot sometimes, Wes, you know that?" Faith said.

"Thank you, Faith, I always enjoy your honest opinion," he answered, knowing that she knew as well now. "Well, I suppose we'd better get back to this. I'm sure Angel is desperate to know."

*  *  *  *  *

_One Year Ago…_

Lindsey sat in the back of the Olde Bookshop, in Chicago. It was one of the few occultist shops around. Chicago wasn't very big on the paranormal thing. Whereas LA was full of magic shops, demonology libraries and spell casting, Chicago was in fact the opposite. It took Lindsey a long time to find a shop that would help him but eventually he found one, a specialist one ran by a demon masquerading as a human in his public life.

"Here we are," he replied, dumping a book on the table as he sat opposite Lindsey. "I thought I recognised your condition from somewhere. It's very rare, though, and I didn't think I'd live long enough to see it."

"What is it?" Lindsey asked, his eyes narrowing.

"An ancient form of magic, originating from Africa. Rumour has it, it was the magic used by the First Watchers when they made the first Slayer but that's all pure superstition. All we know for sure it's that it's a very powerful magic called the Calatine. The one who possesses it has great power."

"That I got from the guy that gave them to me."

The man/demon nodded. "Well, the man that gave it to you, transferred it to you. Literally linking you and passing the energy to you. But this power, the Calatine, is now literally your lifeline. Your bodily functions no longer rely on just your heartbeat and blood around your body, this power is now a part of you, like an organ. If it goes, your body dies, which is what happened to the other man. You can save lives by passing it on."

Lindsey sighed. "So I can save lives with this by transferring it to somebody else, but I got to die."

The man shook his head. "No, no, not necessarily. You don't have to transfer all your energy. You could just transfer a little bit of it and it would still keep you alive."

"Wouldn't I be weaker?"

Again, the man shook his head. "No, you're a younger healthy boy. You have energy that you could rebuild up your energy to its original quantity, the same to the person that you give it to. There could be two of you, but I don't advise it. Two people running around with the same sort of power would be dangerous. Not only that, you'd be bound."

"Bound? As in joined together?"

"Not literally. But you shall be connected because of your power. It would pain you to go too far from your partner and so fourth."

"So this Calatine can heal, what else?"

"Almost anything, really. It can heal, it can destroy. You could do something as simply moving objects with your hand to—as you did, set a building on fire. You could wipe out a whole city of electrical power and then restore it. You could protect yourself and other people—like one those sci-fi movies force field things."

Lindsey looked at his hand for a moment and frowned at it. "Could I destroy other evil powers with it?"

The man looked within the book. "Well, yes, yes, you can. It says it is capable of destroying—eradicating other evils that exist in this dimension or any other. Of course, that would take up a lot of power and energy. You would be rendered weak for a length of time, that is, if you can build up enough energy. You'd know who much you need and what you'd need to do."

"That's what the guy said as well."

"It's an extra sense, this power. You can do so much greatness with it. The possibilities are endless. You could be a one man evil fighting machine! Vampires would be so easy to kill, snake like demons, forces of darkness gathering!"

Lindsey sat back and looked at his hand again with a new expression on his face. It was one of awe and realization. Suddenly, Lindsey saw the potential that he had, the ability and the good that he could do. Maybe this was his way of redemption. With this power not even Wolfram and Hart would be able to stop him. He could return to LA with no fear and do what he knew was right.

"I see you have just found your purpose," the man answered.

*  *  *  *  *

Wesley walked out of the office with Willow after working on the prophecy after a full on three hour work on it. It was four o'clock in the morning. He was tired just like everyone else. No one was asleep, though. Their newcomer, Spike, was sitting on the banquet, talking to Gunn. Amazingly enough, the street fighter was becoming well acquainted with the vampire. Although he didn't trust Spike any more than Angel or anyone else, they could talk about killing techniques and exchange stories. Spike was happy enough to kill vampires himself just like Angel was.

Angel looked up as Wesley walked out of the office. "What is it then?" he asked. He looked at his son who was still sitting on the stairs, looking like a stubborn teenager who was told me couldn't have a TV in his room.

Wes looked at Angel. "I hate prophecies with Conner," he muttered under his breath but of course, Willow could hear her because she was close, as he could Angel and Spike because of their hearing.

"What is then, watcher?" Spike asked.

Wesley frowned at being referred to as a watcher. It was the last thing he wanted to be connected to. "There's no easy way of breaking this Angel. We know there is evil coming…there are forces gathering, an apocalypse is approaching and we seem to be matched."

"We know all that, Wes. What is it?"

Wesley sighed, knowing he could not longer hold back the inevitable. "Angel, a week today, Conner's going to die."


	5. Calling Me

Where do we go from here: CALLING ME

Angel glared at Wesley and look at him hard. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. To him, this was not true. "That's not going to happen, Wes. You translated it wrong."

Wesley sighed. He knew this was going to be hard. "Angel, it's true. I even went back and checked it again through different roots. This is going to happen, Angel, it's been prophesised for thousands of centuries. The fact that it will happen is inevitable unless we find a way of preventing it."

"You mean it could be stopped?"

"The father didn't kill the son, did he? Buffy died and came back," Wesley replied quietly and Angel looked at him, realizing what Wesley was saying. The prophecies could be altered but it was still possible to alter them. 

Conner stood up from the stairs and looked at them. "I'm not going to die," he said. "I can take care of myself. I've been out there day and night fighting trying to keep these streets safe. I know there's something coming so don't try and hide it. I don't need protection."

Wesley sighed tiredly. "Conner, for once just listen to us. Prophecies about death are not just a vampire will catch you by surprise and kill you. They mean, real evil coming and it is meaning to come and kill you. It's mission will be to come and kill you so don't say that you need protection. You're not even going to leave this hotel."

"What—"

"Wes is right," Angel said. "You're not going anywhere, Conner. So go back up to Cordy or something. But I find that you've left this hotel I will track you down and chain you up downstairs in the basement, you understand me?"

Conner looked around the lobby and seeing that no one was going to stand up from him, shook his head and walked up the stairs again. From one of the rooms, they heard a door slam and suddenly the lobby was filled with silence. Spike looked up at his sire. "God, you're son's a right little bastard, isn't he."

"Yeah," Angel replied softly. "Great, now we have this on our hands."

Gunn frowned. "I thought you said that demon of Lorne's said there was another evil coming. Maybe this evil is gonna come within the next and kill Conner. Maybe that's the evil that's gonna do it."

Angel nodded. "It seems possible but we don't know anything about it." He sighed in annoyance.

"There's nothing you can do, mate, until it makes the first move," Spike muttered.

Willow stood up. "Maybe…maybe we should stay. I mean, Conner's probably going to die. We could try and prevent it. I mean, Faith can…kick, slay and all that slayers do and I could use magic if it ever came to an enchanted type of death…if the death ever happens that is."

Angel shook his head. "Don't worry, Willow. You should go back to Sunnydale. Buffy probably needs you."

"But Conner…" Willow continued.

"Aw, geez, we actually have to stay here and save the pip squeak." Faith looked apologetically at Angel and then looked around. She spotted Spike looking at her and she glared back but didn't say anything. The last she needed was more stirring up of trouble within the group. Angel and Spike already had tension and the news about Conner didn't seem to make things easier.

"Willow, go home," Angel said firmly. "We'll be fine. Spike's not going anywhere, are you?" Spike shook his head mutely and stole a glance with Willow for a moment. "There you go; we have an extra pair of hands."

Willow shook her head. "No," she insisted. "If this is within a week, it'll be fine, Angel, I promise."

Angel sighed in frustration and Gunn and Wes couldn't help smiling slightly. "All right, then stay. But right now, I don't know where to stay. We have a Beast's Master that…" he paused. "How could we have been so blind? The Beast's Master, that must be the evil. It wants to kill Conner."

"If it wanted Conner, why did it need Angelus?" Wes asked.

"Maybe to kill Conner himself. Maybe the Master is incapable of doing that himself because he's enclosed. Maybe that's why he needed the beast."

Gunn sighed. "That's a helluva lot of maybes."

"Some of it's right, though." They turned towards the door and saw Justine standing there. She swayed slightly as she looked at them and began to fall. Angel and Gunn began to move towards her but Wesley stayed where he was, not offering to help at all. Faith saw this out of the corner of her eye but still didn't say anything.

"Justine," Angel said. "You came back."

The woman laughed. "God, I don't know how she managed it."

"Who?"

Justine suddenly started crying on the floor and she tried to get to her feet. "Your vision girl. This is horrendous. I've never had to cope with any of this, the pain is terrible. I can't even fight a fucking vampire without a sudden explosion in my head." She took a deep breath. "I've fought in my time, real monsters, vampires, you, I've even faced what Wesley did to me. Angel, I can't take this anymore. Take them away."

Angel looked down at her and for the first time, truly felt sorry. "I can't, Justine. I don't have any power to take them away. They're yours. You just have to learn to manage with them. The Powers that Be gave them to you for a reason. The sooner we take care of what you saw, the visions stop. What did you see?"

"Vampires," Justine answered. "They're all coming, they're already in the city and they've been coming from everywhere again. When the sun came out they all left, cause I wasn't fighting as much. But now they're coming back and I don't know why."

Angel frowned. "Why would the vampires all come back?"

"They can sense something evil is coming again," Spike answered.

"Is that the reason _you came?" Faith answered and Spike glared at her._

"Where are they?" Angel continued asked.

"I didn't see all that much. It's just vivid pictures everywhere. Could I have an aspirin…? Well, what I saw was a whole group of vampires in this nest. There are thirty of them or something and they're all hanging out. Dawn's coming so they'll be hiding out."

"Fred," Angel said to the girl who had been in the office. "Look after Justine. Faith, Spike, Gunn, Wes, we're going now to sort them out. Willow, I want you to stay here and make sure Conner doesn't go anywhere. He wouldn't dare leave if we were still in the hotel but I don't want him to go when we're gone."

"You got it. Do want me to cast a spell."

"I don't care if have to paralyse his legs, but he doesn't go anywhere."

*  *  *  *  *

Cordy panicked at the sound of footsteps at the top of the stairs. Someone was coming. Not many people came up here these days. Sometimes she could hear them in the lobby talking, discussing. News from Conner had told her that Justine now had the visions. She cursed the Powers that Be, wondering why they had been transferred from her. Was it because she was evil. Then there was the news of Spike arriving which really made things worse. Spike was a _good _vampire now, he did _good _things and no longer killed humans.

Cordy held a knife, like she usually did under the bed, just in case. But the door opened and in came Conner, looking furious. He slammed the door loudly and looked around the room. "Oh, no, please, don't kill me," she said sarcastically to him as he turned around. "What happened to you? You look…annoyed."

"I am," Conner said, striding towards the window and sitting on the windowsill. He looked out of the window at the floors below and the still darkened sky that was beginning to lighten up, just at the horizon.

"Well, are you going to tell me or do we have to play twenty questions?"

"There was a prophecy."

"Oh, them again."

"About me."

"Yet again."

"I'm going to die."

"Dare I say it," Cordelia paused and shrieked, "Again!" She sat up in her bed, her hand unclenching on the knife and she thought of the possibilities. "Why are you going to die?"

"Do prophecies ever tell you that. All it said was that I was going to die. Now I'm locked up under this stupid hotel because I can't go out. I can't fight, I can't do anything. God, I hate this."

Cordelia sighed. "Life's like that."

"This isn't even life," Conner muttered. "This is not what I wanted. I was happier in QuorToth than I was here. Being around the most vicious and barbaric monsters and demons is worse than living here? This is the hell dimension not QuorToth."

Cordelia shook her head. "None of that matters now, Conner. We're going to be a family. As soon as the baby comes we can just get out of here and not have to worry about Angel or any of them downstairs because we have love and they don't. They're all too preoccupied with their end of the world to care about us but don't let that bother you. We care about each other."

Conner sighed. "How am I supposed to get out of here when they're all going to be watching me wherever I go."

Cordelia smiled. "There's always a way around those sorts of things. Don't panic so much, Conner. You take too much upon yourself. How about you go and see what they're saying downstairs. I'm sure they'll let you go for a quick fight nearby. Dust a couple pf vampires."

Conner nodded and walked out of the door, leaving Cordelia to relax a little bit although she was slightly worried about the prophecy. She could not think why there would be a prophecy to kill Conner. "The forces of goodness are trying to destroy my little plan. You think you can kill my boy! I'll not be killed and destroyed that easily."

A laugh came from somewhere nearby and Cordelia turned to look at someone sitting on a chair nearby. She brought the knife out from under the covers as she stared in amazement at the person sitting there. "No, this is a lie. This is some kind of lame attempt to knock me off track. Get out."

"Aw, Cordelia, don't get all worried now." Doyle stood up from the chair and sat up on Cordy's bed. "I haven't come here to hurt you. I can't hurt you." He lifted her hand out to her and Cordelia tried to touch it but her hand passed right through his. "I can't take corporeal form, my dear."

"Doyle?" Cordelia asked in confusion.

Doyle shook his head. "No, not me, darlin'. I just look like Doyle. I thought it'd be easier if I took a form that you could relate to, considering I have no form myself."

"What are you?"

Doyle laughed. "Well, that a tricky question. I wish I could answer that for you. I'm the First."

"The First what?"

"The First Evil, Cordelia. Now, but it's really Cordelia now, isn't it." He crept closer to Cordelia stomach. "It's that little tyke in there isn't it? You're the one controlling your mummy, aren't you? You evil little child."

"So, you're the first evil. Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

"I don't expect something as evil as yourself to be so frightened. Actually, you kind of amaze me. You're a different sort of evil, aren't you. Not a spirit, not a force, but some kind of entity that is so old, it only comes by giving birth to itself. And yet the damage you can cause is incredible. I've seen what you've done in other worlds."

"The ones where I destroyed the world or those that I manipulated?"

"Wow, it just gets better and better, doesn't it. Well, I have a proposition for you because I'm on a conquest. I'm in a conquest against a Slayer in Sunnydale and her band of merry rejects that are attempting to destroy me. And yet they seem to be managing to cripple me every time. I thought that joining forces with you, when you take a form would benefit both of us."

"Really? And how did you think that?"

Doyle/First shrugged. "I hadn't really got an idea but we have different qualities. I have huge armies lying in wait for the appropriate time. You will have incredible power within yourself. After all, most of your power through the Boy came from evilness within QuorToth, didn't it? You're not an evil from this dimension."

"You're very knowledgeable. How did you know I was not from this dimension?"

"Let's just say it was an inkling. Well, what do you say?"

"I have to make a decision now?"

"Let's just say it would assure me. You'll not be disappointed. We could do great things. This world could be ours. Once we conquer the Slayer and her friends, we could move into the rest of the world. America, Europe and tear it apart. Or just do what we wish."

"Tempting offer." Cordelia thought for a moment. "All right, I'll accept."

"For a little embryo, you're a smart little evil thing," Doyle/First said. Cordelia glared at it as the apparition simply disappeared into thin air.

Cordy thought for a moment and looked around her room. _Something _knew about her. The First Evil. The _reason _for evil. That must have meant something big. Although the little evil that it possessed was probably no match for the firsts, it might come in useful. She thought she made the right choice.

*  *  *  *  *

Faith held her stake at the ready. She was with Gunn, which she didn't mind. The man was strong, he was a fighter with his wits about him. Faith understood how he felt. Angel, Wesley and Spike had gone around the other side of the building to the back where most of the vampires would be hiding. Faith and Gunn took the front to diverse them towards the back.

"So, what's her deal?" Faith asked Gunn as they approached the house.

Gunn frowned. "Who?"

"The girl. Justine. She looked even more messed up than I was…and I was a real wreck, I'll tell ya."

Gunn laughed. "Justine has issues. She's hasn't really resolved them yet. She was all part of the kidnapping Conner and Holtz thing. Justine and Holtz…well, they shared pain of losing people to vampires and I still don't think Justine has had enough vengeance yet."

"What, after stealing Conner and seeing Angel go through misery of never seeing him grown up. Man, hard to please, isn't she."

"Got that right. But I don't know her that well."

Faith looked around her as if expecting a vampire to suddenly appear from nowhere. It happened often but now, she realized, was a good opening for the question that burned her curiosity. "What's up between her and Wes. If it got any colder hell'd freeze over. Could you see the dirty looks."

"Justine and Wes have a history as well. To cut a long story short, I think it had something to do with the whole slitting throat thing."

Faith's eyes widened. "That's the bitch that cut his throat?" Gunn nodded, surprised by the reaction she gave. "Man, I'd take a knife to her throat as well if it weren't for the mission."

"Once the mission's over, you can have all the pleasure of slitting her throat."

They crept in to the front of the house. The door was open and not even guarded so there was no worry about the security measures. The place was dark and smelt musty. Draping and old curtains covered the windows from any sunlight from seeping through. The smell of a dead body hung from somewhere. Faith and Gunn didn't need to be vampires to smell fresh blood like this. So far, there were no vampires in sight. The place wasn't exactly big. In the dark and seeping sunlight, it seemed incredibly small.

"Faith, look out!" Gunn suddenly shouted, as a vampire jumped silently from the stairs towards Faith. The Slayer jumped out of the way so the vampire lay on the floorboards. She was quick to push down her stake as the vampire disappeared into a million pieces of dust. Gunn looked up, hearing growls. "I suppose we just woke up the other vamps."

Faith grinned. "Oh goody, let's have a picnic."

"I think that was there idea."

As soon as the vampires descended, the doors from the other side burst open, revealing Angel, Spike and Wesley. Spike grinned at the vampires around him and for a moment, Faith froze, wondering whether she looked or felt like Spike when that feeling of the kill came into mind. She shook that out of her head. She was a slayer, he was a blood thirsty vampire—only, with a soul. Like Angel and he wasn't a blood thirsty vampire. All this thinking lead to late reactions and Faith soon found herself knocked over.

She knocked the vampire off, staking him before he had the chance to rise again. Faith looked around as she got up. Spike was grinning, shaking off two vampires with his coat flapping around him as he landed on the ground and staked them both at the same time. They both disappeared around him. "Now, this is a carnage," he shouted at loud, thrilled.

"Spike, just kill them all," Angel said sternly. "The victory party comes later."

"All this redemption and no satisfaction," Spike replied, kicking a vampire as it came forward. "I may not have had this soul as long as you, but at least I know when to feel good 'bout it. And killing this is good."

"They're not different to us."

Spike pushed Angel. "Yes, they are! We're vampires with souls. We're reformed. I don't know how long it's taken you to realize that with your whole tortured self. Angelus may have been a sadistic bastard but all vamps have done something bad. This soul _helps me. I don't feel like a demon with it."_

Angel dusted the vamp and turned towards Spike. "I know you haven't had the soul for a long time. Wait another hundred years, then you'll know how I feel."

"Guys, lose the testosterone," Faith cried at them. "Some of us are actually working here." Spike and Angel glared at each other but continued working. Faith looked around. Gunn and Wes were doing well holding their own for two people who relief on their own human strength, no vampire or slayer power. Faith began to wonder when Wes became so good. Sure, the firs time she met him, he couldn't have hurt a guinea pig. The second time he landed a punch at her.

Now…he could take on two vamps, without blubbering and squeaking and still manage to get them killed. Faith watched as another vampire came up behind Wesley, kicking him and sending him into the other vampire. He was grabbed and Faith ran forward as the vampire moved his neck to the side preparing to bite. She dusted the vampire holding Wesley, sending him backwards and fought the other one. Eventually, she staked him, but not before falling backwards.

She landed right on Wesley. "Err…" she said, for once incapable of saying anything witty or comprehensible.

"Faith," Wes said, staring at her for a moment, lying on top of him.

"I think that's all," Angel said, standing up with his sword. He looked around at the piles of dust on the floor. "That was too easy."

"They're vamps, Angel. There were a dozen of them and five of us," Gunn remarked.

Angel shook his head. "That's not what I meant. We're right bang in the middle of an apocalypse. The Powers that Be have spent their time giving cryptic messages to us through Cordy, most of which failed and now they give them to Justine and they're telling us to burn out an average nest of vampires?"

"It does seem pointless in these extreme times," Wes replied distractedly as Faith helped him to his feet.

"So, what're they doing?" Gunn asked.

"Good question."

Arriving back at the hotel, the mood was a mixture. Angel was preoccupied with the details as to why the Powers that Be were sending them on wild chases. He seemed to be the only one. Strangely enough, Gunn and Spike seemed to get along, talking about the steam they let off during the battle. Gunn was especially happy after beating down a giant beast that refused to react to a huge kick. Wes and Faith on the other hand, were both quiet. Sure, kicking the hell out of vampires had stress relieving qualities but they were more reeling from the shock of their sudden contact—and liking it.

Angel was so distracted he didn't even notice that there was something in the middle of the road. "Angel!" Faith cried out as the body hit the car and flew over the roof. All five of them got out of the car to see who it was. The figure got up from the middle of the road and glared at them, his face disfigured. "Vampire."

Gunn looked around. "Make that vampires, plural."

They all looked around. There were vampires coming from every direction. The sun was almost coming up but they didn't seem particularly worried. They probably wanted to carry on killing. Either that or they noticed the Slayer was still in town and everybody wanted a piece of her. "We can't take them all," Wes said, looking around as he pulled out a stake. "They're coming from everywhere."

Angel looked around. He knew he was right. "In the car, quickly before they get closer."

Spike growled and hit the vampire that was coming towards him with his fist. Another one approaching and he hit him again but he knew he was in trouble when three of them came towards him. He jumped, trying to hit them with his feet but they only dragged him down. "Angel!" he cried loudly as could but Angel was preoccupied with his own vampires.

"This doesn't bow well!" Faith cried as she staked one and was jumped by another.

"Slayer," the vampire hissed.

From somewhere though, there was a roaring sound. What came next was the small of burning and in an instant; all the vampires around them had turned into dust anyway. They all got up from the floor of the car and looked around, wondering what was going. "Seems kind of pointless really," a familiar voice said to them approaching them from the shadows. "Why would vampires come out at this time of day? It's a risk for them. I mean, it's four minutes until sunrise."

Angel looked as Lindsey came from the shadows, holding his left hand and flexing it. To his amazement it was glowing. "Hello again, Angel."


	6. Being Involved

Where do we go from here: BEING INVOLVED

Angel looked at Lindsey for a moment, trying to figure out whether this eyes were playing tricks on him or not. The last time he'd seen Lindesy had been two years ago. He'd left in his truck with his new hand in order to find redemption, trace back his steps and find a new life. Now look at him. He hadn't changed a bit really. He looked refreshed but then again, Angel was more concerned with the glowing hand.

He walked up the Lindsey and slammed him in the face, sending the man sprawling. "I thought I told you never to come back." He bent down to hit Angel again but Lindsey lifted up his hand and half way down to hit him, Angel's fist met a barrier. He pounded again and again but couldn't touch the man. Lindsey's eyes just stared at him calmly. "What is this?"

Lindsey let go of the protection field. "This…an added extension to my hand. I didn't come here to fight Angel. I came here to help you. I'm on your side."

Angel extended his hand and Lindsey took it. He brought him back over. "I'm sure you remember most of us. Gunn, Wesley…Faith."

Faith nodded her head. "Hey. I remember you." Lindsey simply nodded.

"And this is…"

"Spike. I may have been out of action for a while, Angel, but I remember the records at Wolfram and Hart. This is your childe."

"Circumstances have changed around here a lot since you left." Angel looked down at Lindsey's hand. "I see they have for you as well."

Lindsey simply nodded, his face remaining expressionless. He looked around at them. "Got space for another comrade? I don't know very much."

"The gesture's appreciated," Fred replied, smiling faintly. "What do you know?"

"Some big and bad is going to be doing it's thing here in LA. Apocalypse is coming, vampires are approaching and something nasty is doing the word. I'm here to help. I have power that can help you." He looked back. "I'm just amazed Wolfram and Hart didn't attempt anything either during this."

Wesley narrowed his eyes. "There is no Wolfram and Hart," he muttered silently opening the car door. "It and all its people were wiped out." He got into the car silently and everyone else followed, leaving a stunned Lindsey behind.

*  *  *  *  *

The next morning had given everyone a better idea of things, especially Lindsey who was very much confused. Angelus had come back, Faith had been broken out of jail to help and then Willow came to re-ensoul Angel. They had continued to stay in order to help a big bad that was coming—presumably the Beast's Master—who after destroying Wolfram and Hart is once again attracting all the vampires into LA, according to the vision now passed from Cordelia to Justine. Spike was…from what Lindsey could gather, Spike was here for the fun of it. Then there was Angel's son…that _really _shocked him.

Lindsey could see the changes in people. Gunn had aged. He looked mature and stronger. He had yet to see Cordelia. Wesley looked very much different. The stubble and dishevelled look made him older and wiser as well. If possible, he seemed desolate and tormented in attitude. The new girl, Fred, he had no idea about but she seemed charming enough. Willow and Faith and Spike…well he wasn't very good in that department but Faith seemed less…psychotic?

"That's the story, what's yours?"

Lindsey looked down. "She's dead," he said with no emotion at all. He took a deep breath and focused on the ground. "It's just…hard to imagine. Wolfram and Hart doesn't exist and Lilah's…dead."

"We've passed that now, can we move on?"

Lindsey looked at Wesley who was staring icily at him. "What's your problem?"

"All this sudden care for Lilah? Did you redemption finally reveal your emotions because you never used to care about her before."

Lindsey stood up and walked towards him. "And what's it to you anyway? What did you ever know about Lilah? You haven't been with her long enough to ever know anyway. You…" Lindsey paused and looked at Wesley who seemed unaffected by the former lawyer's words.

"I knew her better than you ever will."

"You bastard," Lindsey cried and lifted his left hand. Wesley easily blocked that one but then Lindsey's right fist collided with his chest and he flew backwards, landing on the floor desperate for air, spluttering as if was suffocating.

"Wesley," Fred said uncertainly and all eyes turned to Lindsey. He was looking in worry at the ex watcher. But soon enough, Wesley began to get to his feet breathing heavily. Lindsey's hand was glowing again.

Lindsey had calmed down. "I'm sorry," he said to Wes. "I just…a lot to take in." He sat back down on the banquet.

"What…happened to you?" Gunn asked.

Lindsey looked at them. "It happened a year ago by accident. Someone gave me this power when I was dying. It was the only way to save me but it meant that I have this power with me and I can do anything. It's one of the first form of powers that existed in this dimension and it can do all sorts of damage, protection, healing, you name it."

Wesley raised his eyebrows. "Extraordinary. Does it have a name?"

"Calatine."

If possible, Wesley looked shocked. Spike noticed and looked over from him to Lindsey. "You know what it is?"

Wesley noticed and leaned against the counter. "Originated in Africa, and used by the First Watchers to protect the first Slayer. The powers were descended down from Watcher to Watcher but a long time ago, the Watchers lost the power and it has been…well literally floating around ever since, passing from ordinary person to person. The Ancient Watchers Council in England spent time and effort trying to find it again but failed. If it ever went into the hands of an evil force…well, we wouldn't survive."

"It's that powerful?" Gunn said, interested.

"It's not just power," Wesley continued. "It's a force."

Willow smiled slightly. "So…this kind of power can kill anything, right?" Lindsey nodded. "That's brilliant. And Lindsey's on our side. We can defeat the Beast's Master and the First back in Sunnydale. Can it locate?"

Lindsey shook his head. "It's not magic. It's much more powerful that magic and it takes a lot of learning. I've spent the last year learning how to use it, control it, do what I want it to. Unfortunately, emotions get in the way as well. So, sorry, Wesley."

The door opened and Lorne entered. He frowned at the new guest. "I'll ask later," he replied as he came down the stairs. "Angel, I thought you might want to know…the underground magical wireless is humming a pretty high tune this morning. And it's the type which mentions opening or portals…other dimensions."

Angel looked up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, that something came through the sewers from a different dimension Angle cakes and it's not an alligator. You might want to go down there and check it out."

"If it had anything to do with the apocalypse, the Powers would have given Justine a vision."

"They did," Lorne replied, heading towards the couch and sitting down, crossing over his leg. "Only little miss high and mighty up there doesn't like her so high and might pain to show so she's in hiding. Be glad that there are other sources out there." Angel nodded. "Oh, and Angel. It's dangerous. Don't underestimate what came down there. You're going to need more than strength."

Angel smiled and looked around. "Spike, come on." 

The younger vampire jumped up. "I love a challenge."

"Lindsey, you can have another trial one. Let's see what damage your power can really do."

*  *  *  *  *

Wesley stood outside Faith's door and took a deep breath. He hadn't suffered from nerves in a long time. In fact, he threw precaution out of the window and took to the skies with daring and instinct. It got him far in his sex life and attitude. But when it came to Faith, things were different. So he took a deep breath and knocked.

"Come in," Faith said. She was on the bed, reading a magazine. She looked over at him and smiled. "You know, I thought with your new 'tude, there was no politeness. I expected you to just barge."

Wesley closed the door and smiled slightly. "I'm still British. You're still a woman and despite my attitude, I have some dignity and politeness left."

Faith put her magazine and sat up on the bed. "Dignity, huh? Did you care about that when you were fucking that evil lawyer, bitch?"

Wesley was quite taken aback by her words. She almost sounded hurt by it and she didn't quite look into his eyes. Instead, she stared to the side, at the cabinet as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "Is this a sign of jealousy?" he asked innocently, a hint of his old voice reappearing.

"Jealousy?" Faith said. "Lilah's got nothing on me."

"And yet you seem to care a lot that I was once—engaged—with her."

Faith shrugged. "Well, yeah. It's you, Wes. You pick the bad girls but they never worked for you. What was so special about Lilah."

Wesley shrugged and came forward to sit on the bed next to Wesley. "I suppose, not until I found my own darkness in myself, I didn't know what was like to be one. Once you can relate to someone, a relationship is much easier."

Faith raised her eyebrows incredulously. "Relationship?"

"It was at the time." Wes looked at her. She was so close to him and strangely enough, he wasn't nervous anymore. "Does it bother you?" 

Faith shrugged. "You're being vague."

"Well, that's me. Never one for emotion or getting too involved—unless it's slayer a vampire 'cause I could be involved forever—"

Wes put a finger up to her lips. "Shh," he said and leaning forward, he kissed her lightly on the mouth.

"Huhh…you like the bad girls, Wes," Faith whispered wickedly.

"You're not bad anymore."

Faith simply smiled at him. "I could be." Wesley simply raised his eyebrows in surprise

*  *  *  *  *

Conner put a t-shirt on and headed outside of his room. As he walked towards the landing he bumped into someone and jumped back. Expecting it to be his father or some other part of the crew, he just glared but then he noticed who was standing in front of him. "Justine," he said, slightly shocked. "I…I thought you were…"

"Don't say dead, that would be so cliché," Justine murmured tiredly as she headed down the stairs. Conner noticed how she looked like more of a mess than last time. Her hair was slightly ragged and she appeared to have aged. Her clothes were torn and she looked as though she'd been living in them for a while.

"Where've you been?" he asked, following her. The hotel lobby was empty. His senses told him that Faith and Wesley were still upstairs. Gunn, Fred and Willow appeared to be in the office. "I haven't seen you since that night…"

Justine turned round to look at him and smirk when he stopped. "Still can't get over his death?" she remarked as she sat down. "Well do. I got over it pretty quickly."

"That's rich. I thought you loved him."

"And I thought he loved me, turns out we were both wrong," Justine replied. "He didn't care about me. He cared about the mission. His whole life revolved around hurting Angel, taking you and just pain. As long as he was hurting Angel, it didn't matter what he did. Right up until the end."

Conner frowned. "What, Angel, my father? I've seen what my father is."

Justine tipped her head back. "Angel's just like any other vampire on the street but no he's _special. He has a soul. I bet he craves the human blood he can't get but if he does, his redemption would all be ruined. Look how you turned out, Conner. Call this a family? A bunch of demon hunters who can barely save the world and where do you fit in…" she laughed again. "Oh yeah, you're shaking it up with Angel's previous love. I have to admit, you have Holtz's talents."_

Conner turned around. "It's nothing like that. What Cordelia and I have is special. What would you know about that? You've never had anything special."

Justine jumped up and looked at him. "Look at yourself, you little brat. You're supposed to be special, the son of two vampires and yet you don't strike me as some godly thing. They don't like you and they don't like me. But unlike you, I _had something special until she was murdered by your father's kind."_

"Why do you stay?" Conner demanded, turning round. "Why don't you just leave with your visions?"

"Because if this is what I have to do to find peace I'd do it," Justine spat out at him. "If it shows me and prevents any vampire living for any longer then I'd stay and let you lot kill it. Whether I like it or not, I'm involved now. I hold the visions and that's all. I don't want to be here under this roof with all you band of brave warriors."

Conner motioned to the door. "Then go. You can keep in contact."

Justine held up her hands. "I don't own a cell phone."

*  *  *  *  *

Spike kept to the back whilst walking down the sewers. Being around Angel wasn't his idea of a picnic anyway. They'd never gotten along—whether he was Angel or Angelus. Besides, he didn't know who this Lindsey character was. One minute he's an evil ass lawyer with a grudge against Angel, then he's off on his own and he returns with a hand possessing mysterious power in his hand that seems capable of wiping out the whole of mankind.

No, Spike was quite happy taking the end of the group, leaving his trail of cigarette smoke behind. "How far away is it?"

"Not long," Lindsey replied. "Literally a few corners. I can sense it already."

And he was right. Not far away was a demon, much larger than they had encountered so far. It was so big that it had to crouch in the small sewer tunnel space it had. The portal was seen just behind it. Angel moved forward with his sword. "So you're the ugly ass demon that's been causing havoc in the sewers. Well, I think we could put an end to that."

He lifted his sword but just then, the demon held out its clawed, bird-like hands in a protective gesture. "Hey, stop stop!" he cried, speaking English. "What's this? A welcoming party? I had a much less threatening one in another dimension I went to."

Angel lifted his sword. "We welcome different here." He swung his sword, trying to embed it into the demon but it's outer shell seemed to be made of pure solid rock and it practically broke his sword.

"I'm not as easy as I look," the demon said. "Living in a hell dimension, I think a little more outer protection would be needed."

Angel sighed. "What would I give for slayer power now. Buffy would be useful right now."

Spike's face whipped round to look at him. "Well, she's not here. She's not coming back after you. She has her own problems to deal with than check up on you all the time. I don't know how you can call what you have love. It all got puffed up in smoke."

"Hey, vampires," Lindsey commented, gesturing to the demon.

Angel whirled round to look at his childe. "What is your problem, Spike?" he demanded. "I've let you come into my home and work with my friends so we can fight this evil but you're still being a selfish. How about for once, you do as you're told and help me fight this demon. And why so protective about Buffy anyway."

"Maybe I cared more about her than you did." Spike stared stonily at him.

Angel morphed into game face, his eyes glowing a yellow. "What do you mean," he said, coming towards his childe threatening him. "Did you do something to Buffy that I don't know ab…" He paused and looked at the self satisfaction on Spike's face. "You son of a bitch!" To Spike's surprise, Angel leapt towards him, pushing him onto the ground and punching him. "I'll kill you for this."

"Angel!" Lindsey shouted, looking towards the demon.

Spike pushed Angel off him and punched him, sending the older vampire into the wall. "Maybe she was lonely. Maybe she was fed up and confused. Maybe, the one person that she loved abandoned her to move to LA and doesn't even bother to keep in contact anymore."

"I kept in contact. I visited."

"Not recently," Spike remarked, blocking another blow.

"Angel! Spike."

Spike continued. "I mean come on, Angel. You left her. Do you really think she was going to carry on pining over you after all this time. No, she was going to move on, because she's that type of girl. And as it happens, she likes vampires. She took to me. I didn't do anything to her. It was perfectly natural, just like it was for you!"

They continued fighting but Angel had the power of anger on his side and Spike began to worry slightly. "Oh really? You loved her? You don't know what love is Spike. You never did! Dru wasn't even love it was obsession and even she dumped you!"

Lindsey looked around helplessly.

Angel paused out of breath, looking at his childe who was lying bloody on the ground beneath him. "Is that why you got the soul. You didn't just want it. You did it for her. You thought it would help you."

"Love does strange things to a person," Spike said. Angel hit him again and he hit back. The fighting continued.

"Are they always like this?" the demon asked, gesturing towards them.

"It's a stony reunion," Lindesy replied. "Most of Angel and his relatives are. Now." He lifted up his hand and clenched and suddenly the demon gasped, unable to breath, as his throat was being strangled by the force of Lindsey's hand. "I'm going to ask what you're doing here. And if you don't tell me, I'll snap your neck off."

"Okay, okay!" the demon wheezed and Lindsey let go. "I lost an evil."

Lindsey paused. "What?"

"Where I come from, this hell dimension, there are a lot of evils running around the place. There are physical evils, monsters like me etc etc, and there's spiritual evils. They're all over the place. Well, somehow one escaped and I've been travelling from dimension to dimension in order to find it."

"What dimension do you come from?"

"QuorToth."

Lindsey paused. He ran the information he'd been given this last day through his head. He tried to decipher it all. "QuorToth. As in where the Destroyer was."

The demon laughed. "Oh yeah. He's disappeared somewhere. They say he's dead but it doesn't matter. It means I'll live longer."

"What are you going to do with this evil if you catch it?"

"What I do with al the escapees. Take it back."

Lindsey smiled. "Wrong answer." He pushed his hand forward, sending the demon hurtling into the portal. It closed as soon as the demon went through it. Lindsey turned around to where Spike and Angel were still fighting. He rolled his eyes and pushed them both with his force so they landed against the wall. "You know, if you'd been listening like attentive vampires, you'd have found out a whole lot of information."

*  *  *  *  *

Wesley shook his head and shrugged. "I don't see a connection," he replied as he looked through the prophecy again. He glanced from Angel to Spike. The two vampires had come back bloody and bruised and Lindsey made them sit on opposite sides of the lobby. "It doesn't mention QuorToth or any form of evil coming from it."

Fred frowned. "I'm confused. This demon is a guardian? He catches evils that escape from QuorToth?" Lindsey nodded. "If one escaped here, the only way it would have got through is by Conner. How is that going to kill him?"

Angel sighed. "We don't know that for certain," he replied. "We don't even know where it is. But this evil, this second evil that's come, it's come from QuorToth so either it came from Conner or from Holtz but considering we have this prophecy about Conner's death as well, I'm guessing it was through him."

"What do we do?" Gunn asked.

"We find it and we destroy it," Angel continued. "Just like we always do. Finding it's going to be difficult. We don't know where it is. It could be floating somewhere, it could be in the form of a human or demon. There's no way of knowing."

"Will it kill Conner?" Fred asked.

"It might. That's why we've got to find it. 'Cause if it can kill Conner, it will kill anyone of us. And if it comes from another dimension, a hell dimension, I'm guessing it's ways of killing aren't standard and aren't that pretty either."

Thanks guys, for reviewing. I appreciate. Please continue, I really starve for it, lol

Luv Halina


	7. Apology

_Points to all the people_

I'm back!! Thanks to all my reviews, I love you all! Keep 'em coming, it's what gets me through the lonely writer's block hours!

I love all the suggestions. I haven't even worked out myself what's going to happen.

To my wonderful Beta-Reader ZoeCB, who knows all Buffy and Angel and always checks to make sure everything is in check. Long live Lemons!

End of ramble, onto the actual story!

Where do we go from here: Apology

_9.45 pm___

BUFFY: Willow, where are you?

WILLOW: Where am I? Oh I'm still in LA?

BUFFY: What? LA? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be here helping is fight the first. It's getting tough. The Potentials are just getting uptight and it's hard with Spike not around. What are you doing in LA?

WILLOW: It's a long story.

BUFFY: Then shorten it.

WILLOW: Well, I kind of had to help ensoul Angel again. There was the slight problem here of bringing out Angelus again.\

_In the background—Andrew: Buffy, can you tell Amanda to stop taking the last of the breadsticks. There's nothing else to eat._

BUFFY: Not now, Andrew. Willow? Angelus was back?

WILLOW: Yeah, don't worry, it's okay now. But there's something else you should know. Faith is out of prison. She's…well, not as psychotic as she used to be. I think she should come back to Sunnydale with us…pause…And Spike is here as well, Buffy.

BUFFY: With Angel?

WILLOW: Yes. With all of us. We kind of have an apocalyptic crisis here too.

BUFFY: Does Angel know?

WILLOW: He does now. But…but don't worry, Buffy, it's fine. No one got staked, hurt or anything. But I'm going to have to stay here a few days longer, just until this thing clears up.

BUFFY: Willow, I need you here. This situation could get bad.

WILLOW: We're needed everywhere, Buffy. The world is going to end and it is here too. Only not as bad, if you see what I mean. It'd be a few days.

BUFFY: But…

WILLOW: Buffy…

BUFFY: sigh Fine. A few days. Then I want you back.

Buffy put down the phone and sighed. She turned round, surprised at the unexpected news. More seemed to be happening in LA then it did in Sunnydale. She turned back towards Xander who was sitting on the couch. The potentials were training in the garden, Wood had returned to the school and Andrew had gone off to the kitchen to find back up food.

"She's not coming back?" Xander said, as though he half expected it. "Why does that not surprise me? Evil's here and she's miles way. I bet the first strikes now!"

Giles came from down the stairs. "The First could strike at any moment. We must _constantly _keep our wits about us. But what amazes me is the lack of signs anywhere, suggesting the First's plans, his supporters or anything."

"If they're quiet, that's good," Xander said.

Giles shook his head. He took off his glasses and rubbed his temple. "On the contrary it's rather bad. And worrying. We should be expecting more signs of evil and a much higher paranormal activity in the Hellmouth. It's almost as if the First has moved off or gone into hiding somewhere else."

Buffy shook her head. "I don't like it. It smells too weird. Willow is staying in LA, Angelus has returned—but Angel's back now—Spike is now in LA and Faith has come out, also to join LA. Does this seem odd to you."

Xander frowned. "Yes, they're having a party and didn't invite us."

"They have an apocalypse of their own," Buffy stated. "And they need help. If Willow says this is going to finish as quickly as she says it does, then fine. But any longer than a few days, then I'm going up there myself to get her."

*  *  *  *  *

Gunn looked around the lobby. All was silent again. Only Lindsey was in the lobby, sitting on the banquet, frowning at the ground. Gunn thought he seemed even more distant than before. In fact he looked like he was meditating. "Where he everyone?" he asked.

Lindsey looked up. "Angel's gone upstairs with Willow, so has Spike. Faith has gone to slay some vamps. Wes is in the office. Some random woman walked out earlier in a hurry."

"Fred?" Gunn asked, panic arising.

Lindsey shook his head. "No, messed up woman. Matted hair, old clothes…"

Gunn sighed. "Justine. Don't worry about her. She's trippin', coming and going as she pleases. Hope the visions make her slam into the sidewalk." He walked off and headed to the office. He looked quietly at Wes for a moment and noticed how he seemed to be looking at a book but his eyes didn't move, didn't scan the page or go onto a new line. He was just staring at the page. "The book had pictures?"

Wesley jumped and then looked up. "Gunn," he said quietly. "You startled me."

"Obviously. What're you doing?"

Wesley sighed. "Trying to find out how an evil from a different dimension could pass through into ours. Obviously through Conner but how." He sat back and stretched. "I'm afraid I don't have the books or the knowledge of where to look."

"You weren't even reading the book." Wesley looked up. "I know that look on your face. I've seen it before but I didn't know what it meant at the time. It's confusion, possibly hurt, mainly love…" He paused. "Is it Fred?"

Wesley chuckled. "God, no." He stopped and looked down. "I can safely say that there will never be any form of mutual attraction between me and Fred. It's purely…balanced at the moment. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Who is it then…" Gunn stopped. "Faith."

"I'm surprised Angel couldn't smell it."

Gunn raised his eyebrows. "Whoa! You got one. You certainly have a thing for the bad girls, Wes. Well, maybe except Fred but I give you credit, you sure no how to pick 'em. You got some…"

"There was no time to 'get anything'" Wesley said. "Angel, Spike and Lindsey returned by the time we had even resolved the fact we had feelings for each other." He smiled dreamily and then laughed. "Strange."

"What is?"

"How you can hate someone so much, and vice versa and yet all these changes have made us come closer. We've swapped situations, felt how the other felt, understood and grew to an understanding between us…so much so it can evolve into a relationship. There was a time where I thought she wanted to kill me because there was pure hatred in here. I didn't believe in her reformation. And yet, here we are."

"Does anybody else know?"

"No, I believe you're the first. Unless Angel smelt it."

"I gotta ask," Gunn said slowly and quietly. "I know this is hard. It's been hard on both of us, what with all that's been happening this last year. But did you love, Fred, as in really love her?"

Wesley paused for a moment. "I…I can't even remember the feelings I had. I cared for her certainly, especially what she had been through but I'd been too confident of myself and did not notice you had the same feelings. In the end, Fred made her choice and I just…wasn't fair."

"But it's over?"

"I believe it is for both of us. I never really had anything with Fred anyway."

"No, you were too busy swimming with the sharks." Wesley looked down and Gunn swallowed nervously. "Sorry, man, it wasn't supposed to come out like that. I just…"

Wesley shook his head. "It's okay, I understand."

*  *  *  *  *

Angel slammed down the pad of paper. "We have nothing. We have something evil coming, presumably from QuorThoth, brought through by my own son and roaming around somewhere. We don't know what form it's in and what it plans to do, apart from destroy the world and now I have this to deal. It's just too much."

"Angel, I think you should calm down…" Willow said.

"You knew!" Angel shouted, glaring at her. "You know about Spike and Buffy. You kept it quiet, though and I don't understand why." He stopped pacing. "I don't know why Buffy did it."

"Love is strange," Willow said. "That's true. It never runs the way it's supposed to. Hey, look at me, I'm gay."

"Yes but…" Angel turned to look at her. "You're gay?"

"Yes," Willow replied with no shame. "I had a girl friend…she died, I turned evil but that's beside the point. I'm going off track. The point is that you can't make Buffy chose who she loves, Angel."

"But Spike? My Spike? Of all the people…You think you can trust him?"

"Angel," Willow said, "There were times where we doubted you as well. You turned evil, which was hard for us to accept, especially after all those people you killed. Spike has always had no soul until recently. He's learnt to control his vampire instincts and he became a fighter with us. We didn't trust him either. Things were complicated, just like with you."

"Is it over?" Angel demanded quietly.

Willow shrugged. "I don't know, Angel. I've lost track of Buffy's love life as well. So much had happened. But I think…we have an apocalypse coming and we all need to work together. You and Spike are two of the strongest vampires around. You have to get along if we want to get anywhere with this battle. If there's one thing I learnt about being with Buffy, it's you need to stick together to do you battles."

Angel smiled. "When did you get so smart?"

"Hey, I've always been smart." Willow said down in a chair. "I know It's hard, Angel. Forgiving isn't easy. I should know. I killed people because I was angry when my girlfriend died. You and Spike have a dark history, that's for sure. No one expects you to abandon that in a few minutes. But…make an effort."

Angel sighed and looked down at the ground. "You're right. It is hard. I'm the reason for the way he is. I am the reason he's like this."

Willow shook her head. "You were the reason initially, Angel. Not any more. Spike has changed. Can't you feel it?"

Angel nodded. He looked out into the garden where Spike was standing. He was smoking and pacing restlessly. Obviously something was bothering him. "I know he's changed. I can feel it too. I just didn't want to think about it. I suppose I should somehow."

Willow smiled. "That's the spirit." 

*  *  *  *  *

Wesley sat up on the balcony with Faith. They were sitting down, leaning against the barrier that prevented them from falling three floors into the garden below. They knew Spike was down there, pacing somewhere but at the moment, that was not their concern. Faith looked at Wesley. "You seem nervous."

"Aren't you?"

Faith screwed up her nose and shook her head. "Nah. I gave up being nervous a long time ago. It gets you nowhere in life or in fights. It's probably the whole slayer thing."

Wesley laughed. "And I'm just a lowly demon fighter and researcher."

Faith shrugged. "You have other…hidden talents. C'mon, Wes, what's bothering you. You don't need to hide it. From what you've told me, everything you've hidden has one way or anything come back to slap you in the face so you can tell me."

Wesley sighed. "I'm worried about us. What we're getting into…it could be dangerous for both of us. I'm not much worried about other people knowing…"

"I don't care who knows either. No one can question it, Wes. The council doesn't exist anymore and you've had much worse in terms of girls. I mean, come on, evil lawyers, secret relationships…I'm a just a reformed rogue slayer."

Wes nodded. "I know, I just…I wouldn't know what to do if anything happened to you." He leaned forward and brushed Faith's hair back. 

Faith looked down. "I know. I suppose I wouldn't either." She pulled away and sat against the barrier, wrapped her arms around her knees. "It's strange. I haven't had someone care about me so much like this before. Well, Angel did. But he soon stopped. I guess he had other things to worry about. Darla, Conner and people like that."

"He still cares, Faith. Vampires are complicated creatures but he does care, believe me. And I care." He kissed her lightly. "Who would have thought? The slayer and the watcher."

Faith shrugged. "No different to the slayer and the vampire. I just want you to be comfortable with this, Wes. I haven't had a relationship for…well a very long time. I can't remember the last time. If anything I'd want this to work out. I mean, we've had too much of a past for this to fall apart, you know?"

Wes nodded. "I understand. And I'm sorry." He leant closer.

"For what?"

"You. Especially the parts that I was involved in…well, up until now anyway. And believe me, I want this to work out, every much you do." He kissed her again but the kiss was broken off by a sound coming from outside. Both turned round and looked down to see Angel enter the garden. Wesley reached down and pulled out a tranquilizer gun.

"What're you doing with that?" Faith hissed.

"At the moment, it seems necessary."

Angel quietly entered the garden. Spike put down his cigarette and butted it out and Angel thought now wasn't the right time to tell him not to do that. "Hey, Spike." Spike didn't say anything. He just glared at him. "I was thinking…we could talk."

Spike just laughed bitterly. "Why? So you can go and punch me into the sodding ground some more. No thanks." He began to walk back inside but Angel grabbed his shoulder. Spike roughly pulled it off, suddenly furious. "Don't touch me!" he shouted. "I have nothing to do with you anymore."

"Except for the fact I'm your sire."

Spike's eyes blazed. He pushed Angel away from him. "So much fucking good that did me. So much bloody, sodding good! I was your sire and for most of your unsouled life you bloody hated me. You couldn't stand me and you always showed it by making my life a misery. You kept dragging Drusilla away, making me jealous, taunted me…torturing me!"

"I had no control over what I was doing then. It was the demon," Angel admitted quietly, the guilt building up. "Is that it? You had your payback. You tortured me as well, you almost had me sacrificed several times. All for Drusilla."

Spike laughed and sank to his knees on the ground. "Drusilla was all I had! Your fucking soul got in the way of everything. You disappeared. You staked Darla. All I had was my Dru and even when she went…I was a mess, you know that. You were there! I bet the demon in you was having a bleedin' party!"

Angel sat down. "You know what it feels like now, Spike, to have a soul. You know the guilty feeling, the _good feeling which you demon hates you for."_

"My demon grew a bit soft over the years with a chip in the head."

"But you still feel it. If you didn't have a soul. You would go mad with feeding. I did when I came back as Angelus again. It's that feeling which makes us vampires do the things we do."

"Did that feeling ever make you love Buffy."

Angel suddenly remembered the reason he had come here. It was in fact to talk about Buffy as well. "Buffy and I…we loved each other, Spike. I thought we still did."

Spike put his arm on the bench and put his forehead down. "She still does. That's the point. She's always going to love you, mate. You're like…bound by destiny or something like that. Nothing's every going to stop you having feeling for each other no matter how many guys she shags or you think you love. And that's what I know kept her back from me."

Angel took a deep breath. "And the other times? When guilt wasn't weighing her down. What about then?"

"Mad passion. Desire. Possession possibly. Hey, you should know about that."

Angel smiled. "Do I know about possession and love? Yes, and depending on the circumstances it can go down pretty badly."

"It just happened, mate," Spike said. "You'd left, you'd done. She thought you weren't going to come back. It was pretty obvious to anyone with half a brain you weren't going to get back together the way it was. You constantly fight and it ends in sex and we all know where sex takes you."

"It takes you to that place now," Angel warned him. "And you don't have any back up like a chip. Listen, Spike, we need to put this behind us."

"You can't just shove aside a hundred years in a short space of time." 

"I know. But I want to make an attempt to put things right…everywhere. It's the type of thing you tend to do when you have a soul. I just want this apocalypse to come out with minimum causalities…physically and emotionally."

Spike smiled. "Souls really do make you soft, don't they. I'll give you a chance, Angel. But I can't do anymore."

*  *  *  *  *

Fred couldn't see over the mound of towels that covered her. She almost tripped and fell as she walked across the corridor but was steadied by a pair of arms. She cried out in surprise and dropped the towels and looked to see Gunn holding her.  "Oh…hi," she said timidly.

"What you up to?"

"Well, I was putting towels in all the rooms. We have quite a few visitors now. Spike, Faith, Willow, Lindsey—occasionally Justine. Then there's Cordy and Conner who haven't shown their faces around lately. I just thought I'd do a few rounds."

"Oh, okay. You want any help with that?"

"No, I think I'm okay," Fred said, dodging to the side slightly to get out of the way and continue down the stairs.

Gunn sighed sadly. "When are you going to stop running away from me."

Fred turned around to look at him. There was slight worry in her eyes. "I'm not…"

"Yes you are," Gunn said, looked back towards her but not moving from his spot. "I can tell you are. Don't you want to be with me any more, is that it? Or every time you look at me do you see a murderer?"

"Charles, you know…"

"No, I don't know, Fred. All I know is that I still love you and you keep running away. It hurts, Fred. I can't stand for you to think of me that way. I did worse things in my past. But I've never done them for a girl. I saved you from a burden because I loved you."

Fred's eyes began to well up with tears. "Charles please…I know why you did it for me. But it's still difficult. Things…they've changed now. It's a lot harder. And with everything that's going on…"

"Do you still love me, Fred?" Charles interrupted again.

Fred shrugged. "I don't know."

Gunn moved towards her. "Let's find out." He learned forward and kissed her. It took Fred momentarily by surprise but soon she was kissing back. She abandoned the towels and wrapped her arms around him and for a few moments the apocalypse and right and wrongs didn't matter. There was only here and now and the reality. But it was Fred that backed out first. "What? Don't you miss what it felt like, Fred?"

Fred nodded. "Of course I do. I always did. But this is going to take a while, Charles. We can' just expect it to come back just like that. It will come back." She began to walk round the stairs.

"I love you," Gunn said.

Fred turned round to smile at him as went down. "I know."

Their reunion was broken by the rumblings below the earth. Fred and Gunn looked at each other worriedly. "What was that?" Fred asked.

Gunn shrugged. "I dunno, but it's too much of a coincidence for Mother Nature to be calling now. Fred!" He lunged forward as Fred began to topple back and fall down the stairs. He lurched forward and pulled her back but not before his momentum could send him sprawling. He fell down the stairs, tumbling over and over before lying motionless at the bottom.

"Charles!" Fred cried, peering over. She screamed as parts of the Hyperion began to crumble. It felt like the building was going to collapse. Pieces of rubble began to fall from the ceiling down to the ground.

"Fred," Angel said as he and Spike came into the room.

At that moment, the lights suddenly turned off. The lobby was plunged into complete darkness and no one could see where they were going.

"Angel," Lindsey's voice suddenly came from within the lobby as he tried to keep his balance and make his way towards Angel. Without body heat, Lindsey found this quite a task. "What's going on? Is this supposed to be some kind of sign of the apocalypse?"

"I'll bet. Lindsey, do you know where everyone is."

"The benefits of super powers," he remarked sarcastically. "Fred's on the stairs. Gunn's on the floor at the bottom. I think he's been knocked out. Willow's in the office. Conner and Cordelia are in their rooms. Faith and Wesley are on a balcony on the third floor. This whole building could collapse."

"I doubt it. The hotel's been through worse. But that doesn't stop it from crumbling. We need to get everyone together."

There was the sound of crumbling. Spike felt something crash into his head and he toppled to the ground wordlessly. Fred too was hit and she fell, sprawled on the stairs, unable to keep her balance. 

Outside, Faith held onto Wesley. "What's going on?"

Wesley shrugged. "I have no idea. But it's not safe. We need to get back inside and find Angel." They heard a scream, that sounded particularly like Fred's. As they began to move inside, the balcony began to break apart from the force of the earthquake. Before they knew it, it seemed to give way beneath them and both Faith and Wes grabbed onto the edge of the entrance to the room to hold on.

"I can't hold on, Wes," Faith said. "There's two much movement."

Wesley looked down. The ground seemed far away but they might be able to risk it. "We will have to just drop. Either way we're going to fall." Faith looked uncertainly at him. "Ready? One…two…three…" Both of them let go and headed towards the ground, landing on the rubble that had once been the balcony. Both were unconscious.

Lindsey remained the only one standing in the lobby, protecting himself from falling concrete, lights and wood by propelling them away—or at least the ones he could see. In the darkness, it was impossible to tell where the pieces were. Eventually he too was knocked.

Only Conner and Cordelia remained upstairs. Cordelia looked around at the earthquake and smiled. "Conner," she said. "This is a sign. We have to leave now."

Conner looked at her, confused. "Leave now? What about everyone else downstairs?"

"How else do you plan to escape? Think Conner, they don't know about our baby. If they did, they would only try and destroy it. They would think it was evil. We have to get out now whilst they are all distracted downstairs. Trust me, Conner, my sweet boy. It's all going to be fine."

Conner looked around. From the nearby table, he grabbed a stake and a dagger. "You're right. They'd only harm us. That's all they've been trying to do. We have to go." He grabbed Cordelia's hand and pulled her out of the room and down the stairs past the fallen bodies. Neither of them had any idea where they were going but as long as it was away from the Hyperion it didn't matter.

They left behind a wave of destruction.


	8. Karl

_Another little rant in process._ Excuse the fact I write as slow as a snail (although snails don't write) Schoolwork is burying me. I can't tell me algebra papers from my story papers!__

_Thanks for the reviews everybody! Really appreciate it. Feed me more, I starve for any kind of feedback._

_ZoeCB__, luv u always my best beta reader! The Lemons still rule._

Where do we go from here: KARL

Giles put down the phone silently. "There's no answer," he simply said. "I've tried ringing, and even the operators seem incapable of getting me through. Something is obviously wrong with the line to the hotel. We'll try again later."

Buffy shook her head. "Something's wrong, I can feel it," she said. "Willow said there was an apocalypse. Something must have happened there. I'm going."

"Whoa, whoa, Buffy," Xander said, standing up quickly.

Giles grabbed Buffy's arm. "You can't go," he sternly.

Buffy shook his arm off. "Spike's there. Willow's there. Angel and people I know might be in trouble."

"This is not your fight, Buffy," Giles stated. "If there is an apocalypse they can deal with it. They have enough people. We have a much more serious matter here. You responsibilities with these Potential Slayers. You cannot abandon them like this."

Buffy stared at Giles. "Fine. I'm staying. But if I don't hear anything soon, I'm going. Xander, where are the Potentials?"

Xander looked at her. "Some of them are downstairs with Anya training. Andrew has some of them outside. He's taping their progress."

Buffy frowned. "That's it. I've had enough of that camera." 

*  *  *  *  *

Karl stepped down from the platform. He was dressed in a blue rob which covered his face but now he let it down. He was fairly young for a vampire, less than a hundred years old but with enough power and knowledge to cause damage. His human self had been a musician…an unsuccessful one during the 1920's with a wife and a son. He soon gave up his music career when he was turned and his family was killed. Now he spent most of his time to the dark arts.

He had dabbled a lot in black magic, conjured up many evil spirits and caged them so they could not be set free. He was trying to find the right time to release them. But until someone noticed him that had never been an option. He had been to other dimensions as well. No one seemed to care until a certain something happened to cross paths with him one day.

Karl smiled as he came down the platform. "Today is a glorious day," he shouted. "Today, we finally can feel like we have accomplished something. We have a reason for all the hard work we have done. This massacre…this earthquake we have conjured up today is the beginning of the signs to release the evil and show him to the world. He shall make his grand entrance."

The other vampires of his cold smiled. "How many more do we need?"

"There is yet much preparation to go," Karl said. "The First needs much energy before he is strong enough to enter at full peak. We shall continue with the spell casting. The death of thousands adds to its strength and eventually, we finish with the sacrifice."

One of the vampires stood up. "We have been talking about the sacrifice. An ordinary LA worker or child will not do. Surely the First will require something more…appealing."

Karl nodded and sat down on his chair. He smiled and crossed his legs. "Yes, I'm glad someone had said that. Fortunately, the First has put its trust in us. We shall not fail it. There is a very promising sacrifice that has been under our noses the whole time."

The rest of the cult looked at each other and then at Karl. "Who?"

"A vampire, like the rest of us, only inside himself, he is different. He kills his own. He has been cursed by the soul from Gypsies and now he roams, finding his so-called-redemption." Karl spat down on the ground. "His life is worthless if he cannot accept what he is and his strength and age makes him perfect. He has power from forces above. We shall sacrifice Angel."

The other vampires looked slightly worried. "But, sir, Angel? He is by far stronger than us! He has forces working for him, human, demon and spiritual."

Karl seemed unfazed. "I believe it should be easy to capture him. As for sacrificing, that's even easier. Besides, Angelus should remember me. I am a small meagre part of his history but enough to remember." 

One of the vampires nodded. "As long as you are confident."

Karl stood up, going into game face and his eyes lighting. "Are you defying me?" he demanded angrily.

"N-no," the other vampire said worriedly, backing away.

"I hope not," Karl said, releasing some of the fire that had been smouldering before them. It attacked the vampires and he burst into flames in front of them. All the other vampires looked up with a new sense of fear. "If anyone else has any qualms about this, let them speak now or hold their tongues. We shall fulfil our duty to the First and help it into this world with power and strength. We shall kill Angel even if some of us must sacrifice for it and from that we shall get out reward. Now go."

Karl sat back down as they all dispersed. A girl came up to him and sat on his lip. Karl smiled as she turned his face towards her and kissed him. "Calm down, baby," she said. "Don't get so uptight. We need all these guys to get somewhere."

Karl sighed. "I suppose you're right baby. Some of them don't understand, I can see it in them. They are here for the fun of dabbling in black magic. They don't understand the full extent." He got up, leaving his girlfriend in his chair.

"Everyone's gotta start somewhere. Don't tell me you started at the top, sugar."

Karl shrugged. "These are crucial times. No one understands what the First could do for us. That's why all the vampires are flocking here. They just think something amazing will happen. Many of them are afraid to even try. They know the First will reward those who side with him. It will give LA to us once more what Angelus and the Beast failed to do."

Serpentine smiled. "Of course, honey."

*  *  *  *  *

The hotel door opened quietly. The creak seemed ominously loud in such a quiet place. "Holy smokes," the person said and looked around. "Angel cakes? Wesley? Fred." A panic shot through as he thought of them all dead but then he calmed down. Quickly, he ran towards the office through his now adjusted eyes, looked at the sight of the ruined offices. The shelves had toppled over and books were sprayed everywhere. From the side, he grabbed a candle and struck a match to look around.

He spotted Willow inert form on the ground, underneath a bookcase. "Aww, honey." He ran out into the lobby, knowing he couldn't lift the shelf by himself. "Angel!" he cried, noticing that the vampire was sitting up, dazed and confused.

"Lorne," Angel said, his senses finally returning. "What happened?"

"I don't know but some mystical mojo definitely whammied us almost into the earth's core. I don't know about you, but I don't think this is a natural earthquake."

Angel looked around. "Where is everybody?"

"Willow's in the office. I think that's Spike beside you there. I almost tripped over lawyer boy on my way over."

Angel stood up just as a moan came from the bottom of the stairs. He walked over to the noise. "Gunn," he said, kneeling down, helping the other man, sit up. "Gunn, can you hear me? Wake up, come on."

Gunn squinted and opened his eyes, a hand going to the back of his head. "Holy crap, what's happening?"

"Something evil. C'mon, get up, we need your help."

The three of them together, Lorne, Angel and Gunn, managed to get the bookcase off from Willow and help her into the lobby. They lit the room with candles and electric lamps to help find their way around. Lindsey woke up soon afterwards due to his power senses. They detected Spike and pulled him out as well.

"Who's left?" Angel asked.

"Faith and Wesley," Lindsey said. "They were outside." The garden was equally as much as mess as indoors. Parts of balcony's had collapsed as had walls. Plants and shrubs had been crushed. Faith and Wesley were easy to spot. They were lying on top of the rubble. Faith was already half awake but extremely disorientated.

"What happened?" she asked, looking around at the three men demon.

"Earthquake, sweetie, don't worry about it, just yet."

Faith looked to the side of her. "Wes? Wesley, come on, wake up," she said, taking his shoulders and shaking him slightly. Gunn knelt down to help Faith pull him up and even Angel noticed the amount of concern Faith gave to her ex watcher. Now everyone was assembled inside.

"Lindsey, go upstairs," Angel said. "Be very careful. Try and find Cordy and Conner." Lindsey nodded and walked carefully upstairs. The darkness worried him slightly but from his hand he lit up a small flame that brightened the corridor and he continued walking. In darkness, the Hyperion seemed even larger and more threatening. He had no idea what was lurking there.

He didn't think it would be anything dangerous but he knew that the common human mind seemed to exaggerate such circumstances. Then again, he had been part of a dodgy law firm that dealt in more extravagant situations. He shouldn't have been worried. Yet, faced in an apocalypse in which he was on the good side made him worry. More often than not, bad guys had the advantage at first. Lindsey knew that from experience.

"Cordelia? Conner?" he said edging towards their room. He half expected someone to jump out at him but he knew that his power could stop almost anything. He just kept calm. "Hello?"

A laugh sounded from somewhere. "Stop it, this isn't funny," he said into the corridor. "Come on and show yourselves. You think you can take me on. Let me see."

He looked into Cordelia's and Conner's room. There seemed to be no one there. Yet the laugh still continued. He narrowed his eyes at the room and turned around. Slightly worried, he headed downstairs again.

Lindsey shook his head as he headed downstairs. "Nope, they've gone."

Angel banged his fist on the table, jumping everyone in the room. "Damnit." Everyone was awake now. Spike sat on the couch silently, not feeling any pain at all. Willow seemed to have regained her strength as well. Fred had a bruise on her cheek and the bleeding on the back of Wesley's head seemed to have stopped. "It's obvious they would have made a move now. But why take Cordelia with him."

Gunn shrugged. "You know Conner. He always thinks that we're against him. Let's face it, he and Cordy was little bunnies up in that room. They just saw the opportunity and split."

"I thought your boy had some kind of evil," Spike said.

"_He _is not evil," Angel insisted. "He just brought an evil through."

Lorne looked around the hotel and shivered. "And I can sense it."

All the head's turned to look at him. "What? Fred said uncertainly. "There's an evil…here in the hotel."

Lorne looked over at Willow. "Surely you can feel it, honey."

Willow simply nodded. "He's right, Angel. There's something here, I can sense it. It's not a body kind of evil. It's like…well not even a spirit. It's a force. It probably can be seen, though, we just need to look carefully. But this evil, it's enough to give anyone scares."

Angel grabbed his sword. "All right. Then we go and find this thing and chop its evil head off. If this is our only evil, then we can get it over and done with straight away. We go in teams. Wes, you come with me. Lindsey, you go with Faith. Spike, you go with Gunn and Fred, you with Willow. Let's see how easily we can get this thing. Arm yourselves and be on the lookout."

*  *  *  *   *

Buffy looked out of the window sullenly. The sky was dark again and she was worried. "Heya," Xander said, coming up behind her and making her jump. He noticed the look on her face. "Don't do that look. That looks means something's up and in my experience, those looks of yours end up being right."

Buffy smiled weakly. "It's nothing."

"That's not a nothing. Come on, spill it."

Buffy turned away from the window. "I'm just worried that's all. It's been so quiet here. That hasn't been a rumble of the First or any Bringers. It _is _worrying. In fact, more action seems to be happening in LA and they don't even have a Hellmouth. There could be an apocalypse there and I have Willow, Spike _and _Angel over there."

Xander nodded. "They'll be fine."

"I'm sure. But I still want to know what's going on. You know me, slayer curiosity and all. I just want to…protect them."

Xander sighed. "Buff, you can't protect everyone forever. At some point, you're going to have to protect yourselves as well. There's a lot of bad stuff happening, it seems to be that kinda year again. No doubt Angel has stuff on his mind and if it's bad enough that Willow and Spike feel the need to stay then let them. The First seems to have hidden its evil behind anyway."

Buffy nodded as the door suddenly opened and Giles came in. He looked slightly flustered and looked around. "Giles, what is it?"

Giles spotted them and came in. From the doorway, Andrew and Dawn came in as well to listen in. "Oh, Buffy, there you are…I was just going to say that we may have encountered another problem. It seems there has been an earthquake in LA. That may be the reason for all the dead phone lines."

Buffy immediately stood up. "Oh, God. Then we don't know if…"

Giles shook his head. "No one knows anything yet. And I suggest we continue checking hospitals and the Hyperion to see if we can find anything out. I'm sure they're fine, there should be nothing to worry about.

"I doubt that." Buffy stood up. "We can't worry. Things are quiet here in Sunnydale."

"That's no excuse to go to Sunnydale," Giles reminded her. "It could exactly what…"

All of them suddenly stopped as someone walked through the door. He smiled at Buffy sadly and she stopped, trying to figure out if this was true all not. The sounds of the potentials rang through the garden. Andrew looked over past Buffy. "Who's that?" he asked casually.

Buffy smiled slightly. "Angel…you're all right."

Angel suddenly laughed and looked at her. Buffy's smiled wavered.

"Buffy, it's not Angel," Giles said, stepping back, taking Buffy and Xander back with him. "I believe the First has come back to Sunnydale."

Angel/The First shook his head. "Poor naïve little Buffy. Your heart just melts when it sees me doesn't it. And don't be so fooled. I haven't left Sunnydale. I'm everywhere. I can appear whenever I want. I can come back to wreck havoc here whenever I want and it's so appealing with the Hellmouth and all. I just came to give you a warning."

"What could you possibly have to say to us as a warning?"

Angel smiled again. "They're all going to die," he said darkly. "And I know you care about them. They are deep in your heart because that's what you're all about Slayer. I'm there for the soul reason of making damage inside you. They're all going to die. I'll kill them all."

Buffy advanced on it. "Don't touch them. Don't you dare lay a finger on them. I'll try even harder to kill you."

"Would it just be those that you care for closer that you'd be responsible for?" Angel/The First said. "Angel, Willow, Spike…what about Willow and Wesley and Angel's friends. You don't really want their blood on your hands. The Slayer, you, the one who loves and people love back—you're all about the good and the righteous—all about doing what's right for the sake of mankind."

Buffy moved forward with her hands on her hips. "What kind of threat is this?"  
Buffy said, trying to prove that the fact the First had taken over the form of Angel was not unnerving her. "What do you want me to do? You have no mercy; I'm not going to beg for their lives because it will get me nowhere. But why hurt them."

"They mean a lot to you…all of them, deep down inside even though you push them away at times. Besides, LA has energy. I have a lot more supporters there than I do here and its without the energy of the Hellmouth or the seal. I warn you that I am everywhere. You have a base out in LA. You will have nowhere to go. I will crush them."

With that, the First disappeared again, leaving a blank space where it had been. Xander put his hands on his hips. "Well, cryptic, as usual, I must say."

"Giles, what was he talking about? What has LA got to do with any of this?" Buffy demanded, turning around to face him.

The ex-watcher shrugged. "Buffy, there are an any number of reasons, although Los Angeles does not have a Hellmouth of its own. LA could be another centre of mystical energy but of a different kind. It could attract all the demonic evils, such as vampires to it. The vampires probably think it's safer there because there is no slayer."

"Or," Dawn said, standing into the room, "it could be because of the people. Think about it, most evils thrive on massacres, population Sunnydale versus population LA…weigh up the odds. Which would have a higher total death count."

"Los Angeles is a centre," Giles said. "It may not even be a mystical reason. Maybe it's because people see it was one that it will plan to take it down early."  

Buffy turned around. "It's going to kill them. All of them in LA unless we put a stop to it. I can't afford that, Giles."

Giles shook his head. "It just doesn't sound right. It doesn't sound like a plan something as complex as a thing like the First would do. It seems a little too bitty, there's something more involved here. Until I can talk to Angel in LA, we sit tight here, eventually something will turn up."

"Yeah," Xander said happily. "Something _always does."_

*  *  *  *  *

It was near midnight. All the Potential Slayers were asleep. Once in the middle of the night, Amanda had come to get some milk but she didn't notice. Everyone else was asleep. Buffy, Xander, Giles and Anya were in a particularly troubled sleep with what was happening in LA but they kept it quiet. Now, at this dark time, only Andrew was awake, huddled in the corner of the kitchen. It was the only place he wouldn't be noticed.

Not that he was usually noticed anyway.

He held the knife close to him, with shaking hands. Fear tingled through him, a fear that so far he had concealed with naivety and jokes but was now taking its toll. Tears streaked down his face uncontrollably but he kept his sobs to a minimum in case sleepers in the other room heard him. Again, he clutched the knife harder.

A sound came from the doorway and he tensed again. Hopefully it would be another restless potential going to the fridge. She wouldn't even bother turning the lights on and just walk away without noticing him again. Unfortunately, though, this person had good hearing.

"Is someone there?" a girl asked. The odds were it would be a girl. Andrew could see her bare feet underneath the kitchen table. A sound caught in his throat as he realised the girl was Dawn. "Hello? Who's there?" Dawn flipped on the lights.

"Don't do that!" Andrew cried, standing up behind the table and pointing the knife at her.

Dawn sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Andrew, this isn't the time to play some fantasy hero game. Just go to sleep so the rest of us can. And put that knife away, you'll hurt someone with…" She paused and looked at the boy more carefully. "Andrew, have you been crying?" She rounded the table.

Andrew backed away like a frightened rabbit. "Don't," he whispered with a pleading tone.

"Andrew, I don't want to do anything. What's wrong?"

The boy blinked and rubbed his face quickly to hide reluctant tears. "I saw them. I keep on seeing them, in my dreams, through the First and they just won't leave me alone." He put his hands up to his head. "I want them to go away, especially him."

Dawn frowned. "Especially who, Andrew?" she asked calmly.

Andrew sobbed and dropped the knife. It clattered to the floor with a clang. He followed the knife down onto the ground and started to cry. "Jonathan. I want him to go away." Dawn moved forward and put her arms around the trembling boy in an attempt to comfort him. Andrew looked at her. "Make him go away, Dawn. I can't take it anymore, it's too much. Do I need this much guilt on me?"

Dawn shook her head. "No one needs it, Andrew. The First is messing with your mind, making you see Jonathan and Warren and making you do unspeakable things. You can't let it control you."

Andrew picked up the knife again and sniffed. Dawn held him closer, feeling the shaking through his body. "I killed him," he stated blankly. "I killed him with the knife, drove it through him and fed the seal the blood it wanted. Warren made me do it. I swear to God I thought it was him."

Dawn looked at him. "Andrew, it's not your fault. You were forced…"

Andrew looked down and shook his head. "I had a choice. I could've said no. The First couldn't do it itself, what would it have done to me."

"Killed you. Andrew, let it go. Put the knife down and start over. You're working with us now."

"Buffy hates me. You all hate me…" 

"No!"

"You still see me how I was back then. I wanna change, Dawn, and do something worthwhile."

More people suddenly entered the room and soon Xander, Anya and several potentials were in the doorway. Andrew immediately jumped up with the knife again, dragging Dawn with him. "What's going on here?" Xander demanded and looked at Andrew. "What's going on here? You're making a racket. Some of us want to sleep and _what _are you doing with that knife."

Andrew looked at the knife, not even hearing Xander. "It opened the seal. The blood cut from this knife opens the seal. I can't let it happen again. I'm going, far, far away." He ran out of the door.

"Andrew!" Dawn shouted, trying to run after him.

But Andrew had already disappeared. He left the front door open as he ran through the streets of Sunnydale in a desperate attempt to get out and take the knife away from the Hellmouth, as far away as possible. He ignored the cries of people, Buffy's friends but not his, especially Dawn's and carried on running until he could get away from the torment.

_Help needed! It'll get updated and I have ideas but I need to find out what people want, cos I'm stuck on them._

_1) __Who should die??!! Someone has to die!_

_2) __What other Buffy characters apart from SIT's n Buffy should I bring over?_

_3) __Another Angel character pairing!!!_


	9. Seeing Dead People

The next instalment, weird and wonderful, kind of taken from the episode "Conversations with Dead People" in Buffy. I had no original title, sorry, it's the best I could come up with.

Still, thanks for the all the reviews and my beta reader, ZoeCB!

I'm going away for a few days, people! Going up North to see some scenic views in the North of England and some kind of crappy project. I'll be back soon! Please read n review?!

Where do we go from here: SEEING DEAD PEOPLE

_Spike and Gunn…_

Gunn held his axe. "If that thing even as much as moves its way around me, I'll chop its corporeal body out of here. This evil is gonna get an ass whoopin'. All I've been hearing about for the past six months is evils and now I wanna kill something."

"Well, 'm glad we agree on something," Spike muttered, a cigarette in his mouth.

Gunn took it out. "You want the evil to find us first."

Spike looked at him, annoyed. "Chances are, this evil has already seen us, it's just not showing itself yet. Just…chill out a little bit. All we gotta do is wait. Then we see what we can do about it."

"I'm glad to see you have some much in our petty selves."

"Actually, I have no faith in you, mate."

"I ain't no mate of yours. Either way we're gonna kill this thing."

A giggle sounded from somewhere. Gunn spun around with the axe and listened to the giggle again. It sounded so familiar that chills crept up and down his spine. "It can't be," he said as his mind registered on one name. His eyes were focused on the corridor where the sound came from.

"It can't be what? Or who?" Spike asked.

Gunn looked up ahead and his fears were brought to life. Coming down the corridor was Alonna. She was dressed in the clothes she had on before she died and strangely enough she was smiling. She walked right up to Gunn. "Don't be so afraid," she said. "What did you say about killing this thing?"

"Who is this?" Spike asked.

"She…" Gunn swallowed. "She's my sister. She died."

Spike lunged forward putting a hand on her. "Get on out of here," he said, his hand going straight through her. Gunn just watched in silence.

"I'm dead," Alonna said, looking down on herself. "Look what you did to me, Gunn. Your own sister. You would kill me, for the mission. Now the mission comes back to haunt you. You're all going to die."

"No we're not. You're not his sister. Now sod off!" Spike shouted.

Gunn turned to look at Spike. When he turned round Alonna had gone and in her place stood a tall thin figure, with a pale face and long black her. "Spike," she said softly. "I thought you loved me."

"Sod off!" Spike shouted.

"You loved a slayer. You should have died. Naughty Spike. You didn't die when you were supposed to. Now you're all going to die because I say so. How do you like that, now. I'll kill you all and dance underneath the stars…"

Gunn turned around and looked down the corridor. He knew this vampire as Drusilla, completely insane and the former lover of Spike. This meant trouble if it was actually her. But he couldn't get over the fact that Alonna had been standing there, not less than thirty seconds ago, pleading with her eyes at him. It was too much torment for him.

Spike backed away, grabbing Gunn by his shirt. "We need to get out of here, before she starts singing. It's not your sister, it's not Drusilla, it's just a real evil. An evil that spawns other evil. Remember that. Now run."

Gunn and Spike ran down the corridor. The vampire had his hands over his ears as the form of Drusilla put her hands above the head as it she was dancing. "Early one morning…" she started to sing.

_Fred and __Willow__…_

Willow peeked around the corridor silently. The she stepped around and from behind her came Fred with a sword but slightly more wary. She looked around her, creeped out by the dark corridors and all that lit it up were the small lanterns there were carrying. The silence almost deafened Willow. 

"So, you used to be a physicist," Willow said admiringly.

Fred nodded and smiled. "Yeah, it was my major."

Willow laughed. "I used to love science. It was really fun and bitty although dissecting the frogs was a bit ick for me. It wasn't so bad but I wasn't very good at physics. Too many laws and numbers if you get what I mean. I found Chemistry a lot easier."

Fred laughed. "Chemistry was hard. Too many formulas and different kinds of elements. I used to love doing physics before…"

Willow looked at her and stopped. "Before Pylea?"

Fred nodded and started walking, nervously putting her hair behind her ear. "Yes…hmm…Pylea. Who told you?"

"Wesley."

"Oh. Well, yes, Pylea is a place I don't want to visit again. A five year vacation was just about enough for me. Drawing on caves and walls gets a little bit boring after a while. But yeah, now I just research but I still get to do my physics every now and again."

"That's good then," Willow stated and the silence hung over them for a moment as they continued down the hallway and turned another corner. Part of the wall had collapsed on this side exposing another room inside the Hyperion. Fred noticed how the hotel was going to need some major refurbishing after all this was over. 

"Why, Fred," someone said, coming up behind them, making both Fred and Willow jump. The man was small with glasses. He looked average. He looked very intellectual and he struck shock into Fred. "Why are you so negative about physics? It used to be your prime. You shouldn't let those few years of hell take the shine off it."

Fred's face angered. "What are you doing here!" she shouted. "We killed you. You took physics away from me when you shoved me into that hellhole. What did you expect me to do, forgive and forget?"

Fred just got angrier and she lunged forward, swinging her sword, hoping to bury it deep in professor Sidel's head and finish him once and for all. Fred knew she had had morality issues when it came to killing her professor, especially when Gunn had done so. But now she felt confident, angry enough to do it again and she was ready. The axe swung through the air, through the professor and imbedded itself into the wall.

"Why, Fred," the professor said, clasping his hands below him. "That wasn't very nice of you, was it? At least the professor didn't kill you. But _I _will." He turned to look at the red headed witch. "Hello again, Willow."

The witch's eyes darkened. "Get out of here," she whispered menacingly. "You have no business here in LA. Go back to Sunnydale or go away all together."

She watched, with no surprise, as the figure that had once been professor Sidel, now changed into Warren. "I have no business in LA? On the contrary, Willow, what's going to be my whole world is my business, dontcha think?"

Fred looked on confused. "What? What's going on?"

"Fred, what you saw there was not who you thought it was. The same was with this boy here. I killed him last year. This is the First, an evil made up of evils. It can take the form of any dead person it wants to and it's using it to taunt us. Don't let its words or its forms scare you."

"Such brave words, witch," Warren said. "Bet when you look back now to when you killed this boy, you didn't think you sounded so tough. It was mean, it was cruel. If only you had stayed evil. You have so much power that I would consider sparing you."

"That wasn't me."

 "Oh really? I think it's your alter ego." Warren/The First leant forward towards the witch. "I think it's deep inside of you and it's just burning to come out again. Imagine the possibilities."

"I won't," Willow hissed. "It makes me ill."

Warren shrugged. "Oh well. I have to move on. Keep what I say in mind. You're all going to hell…painfully."

_Angel and Wesley…_

Angel and Wesley barely spoke to each other. It was silence. They were on the first floor of the hotel. Wesley didn't particularly want to be on this floor. Angel didn't care. He seemed intent on killing whatever was still lurking around the hotel. It seemed whatever this thing was had started the earthquake which had rendered the hotel and half the city probably crippled. "We don't even know what this thing is," he stated for the third time. "It could be anything."

"Well, this _anything _is clawing its way to us and trying to get on my nerves and guess what, it's working. This thing could be what kills Conner. If I can help it, I don't give it a chance."

"This is an apocalypse," Wesley said to him fiercely. "Usually the dark forces that come with apocalypses are not simple enough to be stabbed or chopped by a sword. You, of all people, should know that. That's what I believe."

Angel didn't reply for a few seconds. "That doesn't mean we can't try," he answered. "We don't even know where Conner is. He's run away somewhere with Cordy. Both of them could be in danger. They don't even know that something is probably out there."

Wesley sighed. "I pray some of my books survived…" He stopped dead as he rounded the corner. His weapon almost dropped from his hands onto the floor.

Angel stopped. "Wes? Come on, what's…" he stopped as well and followed Wesley's direction. His eyes followed down to the floor where once, a body had laid, punctures in her neck, blood flowing down…"Wes, snap out of it."

Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a figure appeared. The sensation made Angel's head snap round and he froze where he stood. "Lilah," he whispered quietly as he looked at her. She wasn't exactly glowing. Her face looked full of life as it she was alive again. Her hair was neatly done and Wesley took a step back. "What's going on here?" Angel said.

Lilah smiled. "It's the end of the world, Angel," she said. "Didn't we tell you that was going to come at some point?" She walked over to Wesley. "Don't be so distressed, Wesley. Believe me, I'm happier where I am now, you should know that. But believe me, every minute of it was fun. Shame…I can see your death from where I stand now. All of yours."

Angel snapped round towards her. "Is this it? You're haunting our corridors? Why, was it not good enough for you? Was it not your time to die or something? Well you can forget about us resurrecting you!"

Lilah laughed. "Oh, Angel. That's such a lame reason for believing what I am. Do you really think an apocalypse would simply be me, roaming your measly corridors? Why would I want to kill everyone for that? I'd much rather just kill you."

"Lilah…" Angel warned.

Wesley shook his head. "No. Angel, it's not Lilah," he said quietly, looking at the aspiration. "It can't be. The way she speaks, the way she looks and walks…it's exactly like her. It's a copy. Something inhabiting her body. Lilah wouldn't say things like that. She has no reason to come back…not of her own accord anyway."

Lilah/The First smiled. "You're so smart, Wesley. Brains are always useful. Unfortunately, the knowledge in your head or in your books will help you with this. You will die and be reunited with her. And as for you, Angel, your freedom from that demon body and soul will come. All you have to do is surrender."

Angel raised his sword. "Never."

Lilah/The First smiled. "I'm thrilled you said that, Angel. That makes my job a lot more fun. It's so boring when you come in to destroy a world and there's no resistance. I like a little bit of spice added to the mix."

"Did you come from QuoToth then?" Wesley asked.

Lilah laughed. "Pfft, QurToth? I'm older than that world and many others. I was here when the first form of evil walked the earth, before the vampires, before the demons and before the forces and your Powers that Be. Be warned, Angel, this is not the last you'll hear of me. You'll know who I am soon enough. Then you might not even bother resisting."

It disappeared. Silence reigned in the corridor. Wesley put down his weapon. "Well, that was a nice introduction."

_Lindsey and Faith…_

Faith held a stake in her hand. She was prepared for anything. She darted round the corners, prepared to strike at anything that jumped out. Lindsey followed at a more controlled pace. He was equally as prepared but not so much daring and energetic as Faith. If he could help it, he would hate to use his powers at all.

"So, you don't actually like using them?" Faith said, when Lindsey told her. She had calmed down slightly and settled to walking slower down the corridor.

Lindsey shrugged. "It's not so much I don't like using them," he said, shrugging. "It's more that if it got out of hand then I could create some major havoc. As fun as that sounds, I don't normally go for killing humans."

"Not any more anyway."

Lindsey quietened down. "I'm not under the employ of Wolfram and Hart anymore," he said firmly.

Faith laughed slightly. "There is no Wolfram and Hart to be employed too. But you still walked like a lawyer…back straight, good stride going for ya. Your eyes still have that frowniness in them and you can still talk like you were freezing someone…it's like something out of an x-men cartoon. The added feature is your new power."

"I don't even like being associated with Wolfram and Hart anymore," Lindsey said, raising his voice slightly. "I left them, they didn't let me go. Now I go around fighting for the good." He sighed. "Dam, that sounds too much like Angel."

Faith smiled slightly. "Yeah, sounds like it, although I think his trend is copyright."

"So sue me," Lindsey replied, chuckling slightly at the lawyer joke again. "Oh well. It's not as if I have a job anyway. And with this power, what am I gonna do? Generate electricity for the family homes in America?"

"You'd be making a lot of people warm and cosy. It's a good thing you left. You're not completely the same as you were back then. Back in the day, you definitely had a meaner thing going for ya."

"Yeah, I worked for a evil law firm."

"And I'm a slayer, reformed murderer. Life goes round." Faith flicked back her hair and looked behind her again. When she turned back again, Lindsey had walked on and she was standing face to face with someone she thought she'd never have to see again. "Shit!" she said, backing away slightly, thrusting her stake for protection.

What had been the Deputy Mayor smiled. "Come on, Faith, you've already staked me once. No need to do it again."

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Faith retorted. "You're dead."

The Deputy Mayor nodded. "Yes, and I still am, don't worry. This isn't one of those stupid dreams or hauntings. I'm here. And although I can't do it yet, I'm here to kill you."

Faith frowned. "What is this, revenge or something?"

"Well, I was planning to kill all of you. One by one."

Lindsey frowned. "Who is this guy?"

Faith swallowed and straightened. "This is the guy I killed back in Sunnydale. He was the Deputy Mayor. I was on the run because I killed him. And now, he wants to kill all of us."

Lindsey reached forward, his hand going straight through the Deputy Mayor. "Holy crap," he muttered to himself. "This can't be good at all. What the hell are you? You don't exactly look like a ghost."

"I'm not ghost. I inhabit the bodies of the dead and although it's not enough to start your mental torment, I've come to tell you I'm here. You can fight me. I can't fight you yet either. But the time will come and I shall enjoy watching you take your last breath, along with all your friends here in Los Angeles." He smiled. "Happy hunting, I hope you find what you're looking for."

Lindsey turned around and frustrated, stamped his foot into the ground. A wave of power erupted from his hand, surging with great force into the floor below him, creating a hole. He jumped away quickly before anyone could fall down. "Oh, I think we've found what we're looking for."

*  *  *  *  *

Lorne watched as they came down the stairs in pairs, lastly Angel and Wesley. "I'm guessing you all found it," he remarked. "Well, you've all be saying the same thing, kiddos. People you've killed, all resurfacing into their forms and wandering around our corridors. Sounds like a fairly petty evil by my standards." He stirred his gin in his glass and suddenly realised he didn't feel like it. 

"It's not that simple," Wesley said, setting his crossbow onto the table. "We _don't _know what it is."

"Yes we do," Willow said, sitting on the banquet next to Spike. She looked at the vampire for a moment. "It's called the First…the First Evil. It's made up of all the evil and it's bad, guys. It's the reason for evil,  not just some little demon from an apparent hell."

Angel looked at her, recognition on his face. "The First," he said quietly sitting down behind the counter and thought for a second. "I remember it, back when I was in Sunnydale." The others all turned to look at him, except Willow, who knew what he was talking about. "When I came back…from hell, I encountered it. It took the form of Jenny Calendar. It wanted to make me kill myself."

"Well, it's kind of gone beyond petty suicide attempts, mate," Spike said, standing up and pacing. "It's here and it's waiting for blood, our blood. Why it's come here, I don't know and quite frankly, I don't give a toss. It wants to destroy the world and this time, it's capable of doing it. We have nothing that can defeat it." He put a hand up to his forehead and looked at them. "I have to go. I can't stay here with the First as well."

Gunn stood up. "Why? You bailing."

Spike's head snapped round and narrowed. He looked at Gunn. "If there's one thing I ain't done recently, it's 'bailed out.' I can handle myself in this bloody fight even if it kills me. But I'm a danger to you all if I'm here. The First can still control me. I could kill you."

"What do you mean, kill us?" Faith demanded. "He's a souled vampire. I thought he was reformed."

Willow stood up. "He _is," she said earnestly. "That's not the problem. The First has planted some kind of…trigger thing in Spike's head. Now, every time the First sings this particular song to him, he goes all whammy. The soul doesn't count and goes on a killing rampage. He would be dangerous."_

"There has to be some way to get rid of it," Angel said, refusing to believe that this trigger could stop them.

Spike cocked his head to the side and put his hands on his hips. "Don't you think that if there was back in Sunnydale, we would've done already?"

People looked down on the ground and were quiet. Wesley cleared his throat. "I suppose I'd better do some research. I'll see what ways there are to trigger someone and then release them from it. I'll look for the First as well."

Fred and Faith got up, but saying, "I'll help."

At that point, the door opened again. Justine came through silently, wrapping her arms around herself and looked around. There was dried blood on her face. "Hi," she said weakly, looking around. "I…I hope I'm not interrupting something important."

Angel raised an eyebrow. Justine seemed strangely pliant and quiet at the moment. "No," he said, getting up. "Just you know…earthquake. What's wrong? Did you have another vision?"

She nodded. "Um…yeah. It's vampires and demons again." She scratched the back of her head. "They're all gathering in this underground club they've taken over. I think people have got out but the rest are being used as sacrifices. I thought you'd better do something about it."

Angel sighed. "What are the Powers that be doing?" he muttered.

Spike frowned. "The powers that what?"

"The Powers that Be." 

"The powers that be what?"

"Well just…the powers that…are."

"Sounds more like the powers that fuck you, if you ask me. They're sending you in pointless missions to nowhere Ville. You've got bigger things to worry about, like the First, for one."

Gunn shrugged. "There must be the reason the powers are doing this. 'M sure they can see that the First has come to LA. There's a bigger game involved here, man and the vampires and demons coming to LA are involved. Let's take 'em down and find what we need."

Faith stood up. "I'm with muscle boy."

Angel sighed. "Okay. Here we go again."

*  *  *  *  *

Cordy looked around. "Are you sure this is safe?" she asked uncertainly, looking around at the darkness. "Angel could find us here if he wanted to."

Conner shook his head. "No, it's safe, I've checked it out before. It's partly underground but you can't get to it through the sewers so it's safe. I'll be here with you as well. We'll have our baby, and…we'll be a family."

Cordy nodded. She smiled a hidden wicked smile which Conner took for one of happiness. "Exactly," she said. "We'll be happy. We don't need Angel or any of them, no matter how much you think they should be family. We have our baby and it'll be great—it'll be strong and make a new world for us." She turned back to look around through the darkness again. She could manage here for a while.

The boy smiled. "Yeah, sure. I better go out and stake out the place, just to make sure there're no squatters. "

Cordy watched him go and then sat down. "Yes, we'll play happy family's." She walked over to a couch that sat in what looked like an old warehouse which was left unused from a long time ago. "Don't worry. It'll all be over soon. With a new kind of reunion, I think we will rule the world…or destroy it. Whatever works."


	10. Escaping Evil's Wrath

_I have returned from my trip with a new chapter! This one's slightly more original._

_Oz is going to back! Haven't quite worked out how but he'll be coming and as for the Scoobies, I've already written their entrance into LA so don't worry. You just gotta wait a couple of chapters, lol. Then the relationships will be blossoming within the departments._

_Hope you enjoy. Key word that my beta reader Zoe has given me—Visualize. _

_I'm gonna have to remember that somehow._

Zoe: Oh and the first one, I really like the back story of Karl. Very cool

Halina: heehee. I love making new characters

Zoe: Don't like the name much but the character is fabbity fab

What's wrong the name Karl??

Where do we go from here: ESCAPING EVIL'S WRATH

Buffy sighed in the morning as she held a cup of hot coffee. She shook her dismally. "Why would he do something like that?" she asked quietly. "Why would Andrew just run off, with that knife? Dawn, what exactly did he say?" She looked at the younger girl waiting for answers. They had decided that that night was too late to anything to do anything about Andrew. They tried tracking him down for a while but he'd disappeared.

Dawn shrugged. "He was crying. He was seriously upset—mega upset. He was talking about how he had killed Jonathan because Warren had made him. That was what wigged him out the most. He was holding the knife that opened the seal."

Giles shook his head. "We had it all along. And we didn't' know. He opened the seal with that knife. He stabbed Jonathan with _that knife and we didn't know it. We need that knife."_

Principal Wood frowned. "You think it'll help us close the seal."

Buffy sighed again. "If we don't, the Hellmouth will literally overflow. We'll have kids murdering themselves and each other. The First will get stronger from these actions."

Dawn stood up. "Do you even care about Andrew at all? He's out there somewhere. The First could come back to him again and haunt him to do something and we won't be there to protect him!" she shouted. "You know, he was upset because none of us cared about him, that he was here because he had no choice. He could die if the First thought he was indispensable."

Giles nodded again. "Dawn's right. Andrew could be a threat now to the First. He is running with the key to the seal. If it got into the wrong hands…and if Andrew loses any more of his mind, he could be in serious danger."

Xander spread his hands. "Where are we to start looking? We can hardly search Sunnydale asking, 'hey, have you seen a little squirt about yay high, carrying a deadly knife.' I don't know where to start. And what about the potentials?" He looked around.

Dawn frowned. "Well, then I'm going to go and look for him. Not for the sake of the mission but for his own sake. He's not exactly the strongest person. He's armed with a powerful knife." He went to the front door and picked up her jacket ready to out of the door. It was cloudy inside. She took that as a bad sign for a place that was usually bright and sunny.

She shivered and began to walk out. She didn't bother looking behind her until someone shouted, "Dawn, wait!" She looked to find Anya running to catch up with her. "Buffy wanted to come but I said she should wait inside and carry on with the things she can do. I'm not exactly good when it comes to the whole battle thing."

Dawn smiled gratefully. "Thanks." She looked around an isolated street. "Where do we start?" she asked quietly.

*  *  *  *  *

Angel looked beside him and was amazed to find Justine was following them as well. Spike, Wesley, Faith, Lindsey and Gunn had barely noticed her following them on the way to the demon's nest. He stopped and turned her around. "What're you doing here?" he demanded. "You're supposed to be back at the hotel. Do you really think you can fight with a headache?"

"I've got used to the fucking headaches," she snapped. "They're just a stupid throb now and you're not taking me out of this. I'm not a part of your 'crew.' You cannot tell me what I can do or who I can fight. This nest has vampires, I'll take them all out by myself."

Angel rolled his eyes and carried on. Justine had a point. She wasn't really a part of them. She was her own freelance vampire hunter with the soul mission in life to eradicate all vampires from the face of the earth, no matter what their excuse. Angel wondered if it came down to it, would Justine stake him.

The nest wasn't that far away from the Hyperion. It was an abandoned warehouse from long ago. Already Angel could smell the vampires there…at least half a dozen. There were two storeys to the Warehouse they saw, as they went inside. "This place needs more of a redecoration than the last crib," Gunn said, as he pulled a spider's web off his jumper. 

"The warehouses closed long ago," Wesley stated. "They've been uninhabited ever since and considering no one goes here for safety reasons, it's ideal for vampires to hide out in."

"I've seen better places for vampires to live in," Angel replied incredulously.

"Shh," Faith said quietly. In the silence it sounded as though there was a chain rattling. In the quietness of the warehouse, the sound seemed almost eerie and distant. Lindsey shivered slightly and looked around with narrowed eyes, trying to adjust to the darkness.

"I can't see or hear anything," he murmured. "Are you sure we have the right place?"

As soon as he said that, a vampire jumped from above them, landing on Lindsey and pinning him to the ground. It caught Lindsey and the rest by surprise and Faith was about to help him when more vampires seemed to appear from nowhere. Lindsey pushed the vampire with his left hand hard so he propelled through the air and slammed against the wall above the entrance of the warehouse.

"How come they arrive so dam fast?" Gunn said. "And why is it always a surprise?"

"Vampires love the whole ambush thing," Spike cried back, kicking one vampire fiercely and staking him as he hit the ground. "They can't seem to find another interesting method of attack."

For a few moments, none of them spoke. There were more vampires here than Angel had originally fought. All of them were too preoccupied but occasionally there was the triumphant sound of a scream and a vampire turning into dust. Faith, Wesley, Gunn and Spike were all preoccupied. Lindsey seemed to be doing very well by himself but he noticed that Lindsey enjoyed using fire from his own new ability than the annoyance of holding a stake.

A vampire from behind pushed Faith into the ground. It took her by such surprise that she didn't have enough momentum to turn over and land back on her feet before the vampire crawled on top of her, already ready to bite. With her arm twisted under her, she couldn't take her stake and stab him in the heart. A scream and a sudden relief of pressure told her that he had been staked.

"Faith, are you all right?" Wesley asked, bending down to help her to her feet.

She nodded. "Five by five." She looked above Wes. "Duck." He did so and Faith put her stake into the other vampires heart that had been advancing towards them.

Over on the other side of the warehouse, where another fight had moved, Angel staked another vampire that had been knocked Spike over. He held out his hand to him to help the younger vampire. Spike looked at it for a moment and then grudgingly took it. "Thanks," he muttered, before brushing past Angel.

Angel grabbed another vampire by the throat and held it up against the wall. He morphed into his game face and growled at the other vampire. "I'm fed up of fighting meaningless bunches of vampires and coming out empty houses. What are you doing here?"

The vampire struggled in Angel's grip. "Fuck you," he spat.

Angel punched the vampire in the stomach. It doubled over in pain but then he reached for the throat again, holding tighter. "I'll ask you again this time, less polite. What are you doing here? Why are you here?"

"Chill, man," it said. "Don't kill me! I'll tell you why we're here. We were called, all the way from Philadelphia. All vampires are being called from everywhere to LA to take part in rituals."

"What rituals."

"I don't know!" the vampire screamed. "I haven't been to one yet. But they're all being called by Karl. They said he's one of the chosen few to lead us into victory." Angel growled. He'd finally found his answer. Karl was the reason behind all of this. "Before you ask, I don't know where Karl is. I haven't been to a meeting, remember?"

 Angel staked him against his word and from the corner of his eye spotted Justine running through another door of the warehouse, chasing another vampire. "Justine! Get back here!" he cried.

If Justine did hear, she didn't do anything about it. She continued running through into the room, her stake in her hand and prepared to fight. The back rooms were dark and dismal. Not a sound seemed to be coming from them. Then the vampire appeared as she walked through the door she'd carefully opened. It grabbed her by the throat, choking her quickly that she dropped her stake.

"You won't kill me," the vampire growled at her grabbing either side of her head.

When Angel burst through the door a few seconds later, the vampire had escaped out of an open window. On the floor beside the door was Justine her neck broken. 

*  *  *  *  *

There was silence back at the Hyperion. Justine, although she had not been friendly for most of the time they'd known her, her death had been tragic. She was a lost valued person, a vampire hunter. Her methods were wrong but her intentions, slightly blinded by passions and revenge, were on the right path. What worried Angel was that he had lost his link to the powers. Where would the powers deliver them now?

Wesley came out of the bathroom on the first floor and Faith was still sitting on the bed, cross legged. "Did you hate her?" Faith asked, as Wesley reached for a cleaner shirt.

"Excuse me?" Wesley asked.

"You know, the Justine girl? I mean, you must have had it in for her a bit, right? Bitch slits your throat, you don't just toss away the forgiveness, you know?"

Wesley grimaced slightly. He lightly touched the scar on his throat. "You're right. I did hate her, especially after I woke up in hospital. Justine had not only attempted to take my life, but it resulted in her taking Conner and in the end, the loss of my friends. How would you feel?"

Faith stood up. "Hey, babe, chill out, it's okay. It's all history now. Angel's forgiven you. No one holds that against you anymore."

"Not outwardly, no." Wesley sighed. "I had always hoped Justine would find some sort of peace. She was a very troubled girl. Maybe she found it now. And as for everyone else…" now she shrugged. "I can only live up to expectations and do what I can do for the right reason."

Faith grinned and stood up, putting her arms around his shoulders. "Well, I think the scar's sexy…real manly-like." Her index finger traced the line.

"Really?" Wesley asked.

Faith nodded slowly. "Hell, yeah." She learnt forward and licked the scar with her tongue. Before any touch on the scar had scared Wesley. It brought back the painful images and memories. But strange as it sounded, he felt safe with Faith. He captured her mouth for a long kiss.  

Downstairs, though, Angel was feeling slightly more distressed. He stared down at an old picture of Cordy and sigh. With annoyance, he put the picture back on the table and sat back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. "Feeling a bit broody again?" Willow asked, looking at him from the corridor. Angel didn't look down but continued to trace patterns on the ceiling. He merely nodded. "Want to talk about it."

Angel sighed. "Gee, where should I start?"

Willow swallowed and nodded. "Right, sorry." She began to turn around.

"No…No I'm sorry," Angel said, sitting up. "Things are just difficult. That's all. It's getting very complicated. I feel so pressured again. I don't remember having to feel this pressured since…well, since Darla showed up again. Now, everything's roller coasting out of control."

"Like?"

"Well, how about the whole damned apocalypse for one. Our run down is that we have whatever evil that is reminisced of the Beast. I have two evils running a mock, the First and this apparent evil from QuorToth, one of which is going to kill Conner which has been prophesied. Oh, and Conner has run off somewhere with Cordy. I can't track them down. And I _can't look after everyone."_

"Angel, no one's expecting you to," Willow stated. "People are here of their own free will. Faith and I are, and Spike and Lindsey. Wesley Gunn and Fred are here because this is what they do. They cannot live with the thought of people dying when they knew how."

Angel took a deep breath. "The world is coming to an end and people don't know if. What's even funnier is that the resistance against the forces of evil are a band of people who can't even keep heads straight within their own group. Justine was just killed. Spike still hates me and he has every reason to. I don't _know _half of the relationship situations here."

Willow smiled slightly. "I don't think _that's in your job description."_

Angel sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "And what about Justine? She's dead, we can't bring her back and she was our link to the Powers that Be after Cordy. Where would they send them now?"

Willow shrugged. "That's anyone's guess. You'll just have to wait and see what turns up. Something will. What about that vampire that you killed. You were talking about Karl."

Angel got up. "Yeah." He walked out of the office. "Wes?" he said, looking at Wesley and Faith as they came down the stairs. Gunn was reapplying his axe to the cupboard, Fred was sitting quietly with Spike and Lindsey was off on the other side of the room. Lorne sat on the sofa with another drink. "Karl?"

Wesley smiled slightly. "Standard watcher's training at the academy these days," he remarked. "I thought you'd know more about him. You encountered him I believe, in the early 1950's."

"Yeah, I was kind of going through a redemption thing. I only know the basics."

"Karl _is _a vampire but he was turned under different circumstances. I believe he was a musician originally—a failed musician—and wanting some kind of fame, he dabbled in the occult and the dark arts. His knowledge of it and desperation for renowned fame led him to selling his own soul and drinking the blood of a vampire."

Spike shrugged. "He's still a vampire. We can still stake him and that's it. Sodding good the information will do."

Wesley shrugged. "Karl may be an ordinary vampire. His soul cannot ever be returned. He willingly gave it up—well, to the devil, you might say. The devil will not give back the soul. Karl is still knowledgeable of the dark arts. As well as physical strength, he has own power."

Lindsey stood up. "I'd like to see him try."

Fred looked up shyly. "I really doubt the Powers gave us this vision to kill Karl."

Gunn nodded. "Yeah, he sounds like an incredibly important player to me. What if he's someone we need to get to find out information?"

"Yeah," Angel agreed sighing and putting his hands in his pockets. "Karl won't give it out willingly. If what I remember about him still stands, he's a stubborn son of a bitch. But that vampire tonight said Karl is the one drawing all the other vampires here so he definitely knows something. He may be working for one our evils."

Wesley sat down. "Maybe Karl is the key. Therefore maybe that was all Justine was needed for by the Powers—to guide us in the right direction. Cordelia was not here so they were given to Justine and as her reward, she receives her own form of piece."

"So…what about your visiony things? Don't you need them?" Willow asked.

Gunn laughed. "Will we? From what I see, there are two options. They either go back to Cordelia and a helluva lot of good that's gonna do if she ain't here. And second, if we use Karl and eradicate evil through him, maybe there will be no need for the visions. Maybe this was what the Powers were building us up to."

Lindsey let out a low sigh. "Sounds very ominous to me."

*  *  *  *  *

Andrew let out a sigh as he landed on LA ground. He had run away from Sunnydale and without much luck had tried to hitch a ride to Los Angeles. Eventually, he managed to scramble enough to get him half way there and the rest he had either walked or actually got rides from unwary people travelling his way. He didn't speak that much and he kept the knife covered at all times. When he finally got to LA, he was relieved.

"Watch out, kid," the driver said to him before he closed the door. "LA can be a cruel place. You don't want to land in the wrong kind of crowd."

Andrew smiled slightly. "Oh. Thanks."

He closed the door and quietly walked away, looking wide eyed around him at the streets of Los Angeles. Here was nothing like Sunnydale. There was more action and life, there were cars on the roads and people everywhere, of all sorts. Andrew swallowed and looked around, now uncertain where to go.

He had his knife, that was all he cared about. Truth be told, Andrew didn't know why he came to LA anyway. His initial idea was just to runaway. It had always been his solution to difficult situations. He didn't want to die in Sunnydale but he didn't want others to die either. Him there with this knife—it was an opportunity for the First. 

Then again, if the First was focusing all its energy here, Andrew wondered why he had come here in the first place. It seemed right at the time. It was as if LA was the safest place he could go. The thing was, he had no idea where he was going now. He knew nothing and no one in Los Angeles. All he had was the company of his knife.

He sat on the sidewalk and looked at it for a moment—the sharp blade that he had once plunged into Jonathan. An image of his best friend's face sprung to mind again but he pushed it out of the way. The handle was decorated. It looked wooden but he knew it wasn't. Andrew almost wished that he'd stayed in Mexico. That way he wouldn't be in this position, Jonathan wouldn't be dead and he may have some sort of normal life attempting to speak Spanish.

"Hey, kid, it ain't safe to sit on these streets," someone said. "You could get…" Andrew stood up and pointed the knife at him. "Whoa, buddy, I was only saying…it ain't safe…But I see you have that handled."

The man ran off and Andrew looked around. The streets were dark in LA. This looked like the quiet down now where he had walked into. He sighed and looked around. The air was hot in LA and yet he felt cold in his thin jumper and jeans. He had run out of Buffy's house without much thought of clothing and the small amount of possessions he had.

"What would Buffy do in a situation like this," he said to himself. "Probably slay a couple of vampires or something." Andrew wasn't here looking for trouble. He was here to stay low until the First either won or was defeated. He folded his arms, shivered once and looked around again.

He whistled lightly to himself as he walked down a road into the main part of the town. He looked around at the bright lights and the town itself. Part of him felt excited but that was all the happy part of himself at the moment. Most of him was worried, very frightened and slightly nervous. He was in a big city. He didn't usually have to look after himself. That was either Tucker's job, or Warren's and in the more recent case Buffy.

"I can do things by myself," he said to himself. "I can fight…things. I have a knife. I have a weapon. I can kill a demon…Oh, I don't have a stake, though…"

A hand suddenly grabbed him and spun him round. Andrew shouted for a second but then pulled out his knife again. He didn't even look at his attacker. He could only hope that he would be scared by the knife. Unfortunately, all he did was knock his arm up at the knife flew out of his hand.

"Hey!" Andrew said and he looked at the person opposite him. He couldn't have been much younger than him. He still had youthful features but his face was hard an angry. His hair had grown long and his face was pale. He was aiming a stake at him. Andrew held up his hands. "I'm not a vampire."

"I know, I can smell it," the person said, with almost no expression at all. "You don't look like much of a threat."

Andrew looked down at the ground. "I couldn't even attack you." He looked back. "Can I go and get my knife back now…I promise not to attack you," he added quickly.

The other person nodded. Andrew picked up his knife and put it back in his pocket. There was silence for a moment. "What're you doing out here? It's not safe at this time of night. You know about vampires. They're all coming here. And the demons. It's best you get out."

"I only just got here."

"Why?"

Andrew shrugged. "To hide."

"You're hiding in an open place," he said. Andrew looked back down the road and sighed, wondering whether this had been a wasted trip. The First was right. It had power here if what this boy said was true about all the vampires and demons coming here. "How long have you been running, then?"

Andrew turned round to look at him in amazement. "Two days," he answered. "I'm good at running. Been doing it for a while."

"What're you running from?"

Andrew looked around. "Evil," he answered. "The First Evil. It's been using me. You just get away, I'm a threat to you. I'll—it'll make me do things to people. I don't want to hurt anyone," he pleaded at the end.

The boy held out his hands. "I'm not gonna hurt you." There was silence again. For a moment, the boy was torn between decisions but finally he sighed with defeat when he weighed up his options. "But if there's evil here then you need protection and I know just the people that can give it to you. You can come along with me if you want."

Andrew looked uncertain for a moment. Then he nodded. "All right. You seem nice enough. I'm Andrew by the way."

The other boy lifted his arm and whacked Andrew on the side of the head. Andrew slumped to the ground unconscious, the knife still tucked into his waistband. The boy looked down at Andrew, with an almost apologetic expression on his face. "I'm Conner." 

_Was it obvious it was gonna be Conner? I hope it shocked some of you, lol! That's my chapter for the moment. More to come!_


	11. Andrew and Conner

_Hello people!_

_I know, this seemed to take a while, didn't it! But I'm here, with a new chapter and continuation of our very confusing story._

_This here, is my favourite chapter that I've written so far! Enjoy!_

Where do we go from here: ANDREW AND CONNER

Conner sat silently in the corner. He rested his chin in his hands and his elbows on his knees on a large wooden crate that had been abandoned in the warehouse. It was the next morning and the sun was just shifting through the dusty, murky windows up high. He remained silent but he stared at the boy that he had kidnapped the night before. He had been so pathetic, not particularly strong and there was nothing remarkably special about him…except for the fact that he had carried this old looking knife and Cordelia was very insistent that it should be him that he took.

Conner listened to the argument between Cordelia and the First. She had no idea who this person was, masquerading as a little Irish man but whatever it was, his Cordelia had important business with him.

"You see, it works both ways for us, darlin'," the Irish man was saying. "You get your sacrifice for yourself. The blood of one for your little self. And I get the one that I want dead. He needs to die. He could completely destroy our plans and then where would our partnership be."

Cordelia turned around and looked at the boy. "It doesn't matter what kind of person it is, but the blood has to be from someone innocent. And I smell sin and guilt all over him. He's not innocent."

"So he took part in a little murder and was temporarily a "super villain." He's reformed. He's still innocent in the eyes of this battle. He's weak, he's pathetic but his blood will make you strong."

Cordelia shook her head. "It's not good enough. It wouldn't work. I need to find the blood of someone innocent soon, if I wish to become strong. And what about you. How do you plan to make yourself useful."

The little Irish person smiled slightly and leaned back with his hands in his pockets. "Oh, my plans take a little longer than the bloodshed of one. I need the bloodshed of thousands, rituals that are taking place this instance. I thrive on its energy. When the time comes, I shall defeat the slayer before I reach peak strength and break into the world. It wouldn't matter who was innocent and who wasn't."

Cordelia looked away from Andrew. "I suppose not. Either way he's not good to me. You may as well kill him yourself."

The Irish man shook his head. He moved forward and put a hand towards Cordelia's face as if to touch her lightly. It took Conner ever ounce of strength not to jump out. But he watched as the hand passed right through Cordelia. She remained unnerved.

"If I could have killed him myself," he whispered, "I would have done it a long time ago, now, wouldn't I? You are my ally. I rely on you as much as you rely on me now. I shall find you the blood of the innocent and you can send your little boy over there to go and collect whoever it is. But I require you to dispose of that boy, Andrew, there. Then find that knife, and give it to me."

Cordelia smiled. "You know what, I think we might just about have an understanding here. Here's to the benefit of our partnership. Let's hope it continues."

"Never better spoke, darlin," the Irish man said, before disappearing.

Now that he had gone, Conner stood up. He walked up to Cordelia. "Who was that?" he asked, nodding to the wall where the Irish man was once standing.

"He was an old friend…he used to work for us. He changed a bit." Cordelia looked at Conner who was about to ask another question but she shushed him. "Shh. Now's not the time to answer questions. The baby will be coming soon and preparations must be made. This is not going to be any ordinary baby. I'm going into the other room." She looked at Andrew. "Will you do something about that?"

"Why?"

Cordelia held up her hands. "Blood splatter, eew." She walked off into the other room, smiling.

Conner was left alone. He looked down at the figure of Andrew, still lying on the ground where they had left him. Conner didn't have the heart to tie his hands or feet so he had just left him on the ground. Conner looked at the knife in his hands and put it into his own waistbands. He knelt down to Andrew.

He had barely touched his shoulder before Andrew stirred slightly and opened his eyes. He jumped away, backing up and breathing heavily. He looked straight at Conner. Conner could see that Andrew was afraid but that his fear was giving him a slight hysterical edge as well—enough to make him confident and defiant. "What's going on?" he demanded angrily. "Who—Who are you?"

"I'm Conner."

Andrew was silent for a moment. He took a deep breath. "I need to go. I—I can't stay here." Conner pushed him back down lightly. Andrew wrenched his hand away. "Don't touch me! You can't keep me here. It's here! And if it's here then I can't be here."

"I have to."

Andrew shook his head and took another deep breath. "I can't stay. You heard it. It wants to kill me. I can't stay. Please let me go."

"What wants to kill you?"

Andrew looked around. "That thing. It was talking to that woman. I pretended I was asleep. If it knew I heard, it would make her kill me then."

Conner frowned. "What, the little Irish guy. Cordelia's old friend?"

Andrew shook his head wearily and looked at the ground. "That friend, whoever he was, is dead. It's the First. It takes over the forms of dead people, masquerades them and manipulates you to do your work for them."

Conner got up angrily. "Cordy wouldn't work for anything evil. It wasn't manipulating her. It sounds more like they were making a deal."

Andrew nodded. "I know." He looked away from Conner and where Cordelia had gone. "Don't hit me again…but who was she? She looks really scary. Doesn't she seem…almost creepy to you."

Conner just glared down at Andrew but he didn't sound confident. "No."

Andrew raised an eyebrow. Then he stood up. "I don't care what you say. I'm—I'm getting out of here and you won't stop me this time. I'm not going to be killed by the First. I came away from Sunnydale for that reason. Buffy can't find out where I am…"

Conner paused. "You come from Sunnydale?"

"Well…yeah." Andrew narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"The Slayer…"

"Oh you know about her being the Slayer too, huh? Well, yeah, she's fighting the First and I can't stand it. It's constantly using me. I came here to get away from it. It came in not long ago pretending to be Angel, her former love."

"Angel?" Conner said and stood up. There was silence for a moment. Even though Andrew had said he was going to run he didn't know if he was up for it. His head was killing him from the knock Conner had given him and he was too worried that Conner would attempt something at him again. Conner seemed like an incredibly distant and confused person—like him.

"Angel's…"

"Your father," Andrew said and he immediately clamped his mouth closed.

Conner whirled round. "How did you know that?"

Andrew's mouth opened and then he closed again. He backed away towards the wall. "I—I didn't."

"You must have done."

"I swear, man, I didn't know. It just kind of came out. If I'd known you were Angel's son, I would have said it long ago." Andrew turned on the spot in a circle. "I have to go, I really have to go. The First is here. It's going to kill me, it wants to. Or it'll use me against Angel and Buffy. It said they were all going to die."

Conner frowned. "Die?" Andrew nodded. "They can't die. They have too many forces with them. I can smell it all over them. Vampires and the Powers all working for them and against me and Cordy. We're going to have a baby and if they find out, they'll kill it. I can't let them do that."

Andrew frowned. He looked around the warehouse. "You're not going to let me go, are you?"

Conner looked at the ground. "I can't," he said despairingly.

"You—you don't want to kill me…do you?"

Conner looked back at him. "I can't do that either."

Andrew let out a small sigh of relief. "So—erm—Angel's son. Heard about you. You're like big and all…" Conner was silent. "Well, if you're not going to kill and you don't want to let me go, how 'bout we just talk. I'm sure…we could find lots of stuff to talk about."

*  *  *  *  *

Gunn woke up first that morning. He turned around and looked at the ceiling and then beside him on the bed. Sighing in disappointment, he got up. Every day, he woke up, hoping that what had happened over the months had been just one long nightmare. He still had his Fred to wake up to every morning, there was no apocalypse and there will was one big happy family. Every morning he was disappointed and his heart sank but not enough to stop fighting for it.

He went downstairs in the hope for something new and interesting. The hotel was still standing. Most of the earthquakes remnants had been swept away by Willow and Lindsey.

No one seemed to be in the lobby. It was strangely quiet. He assumed that at six o'clock in the morning everyone was asleep. Each person occupied a room within the hotel. Faith had returned with Wesley to his apartment. But going downstairs, Gunn could hear the rustling of papers coming from within the office. He went in, looking at Angel, still seated behind a desk.

"You're not really going for the typical vampire stereotype, are you?" he said. "You know, coming out at night, sleeping in the day."

"No time for those kind of pleasantries," Angel murmured, busily shuffling papers aside. "Have you found out where Karl is?"

Gunn looked around and frowned in confusion. "Err, no. Last I knew, Lorne was checking on that. He hasn't been back since last night."

Angel slammed his hands down. "Damnit," he yelled. 

"Whoa, Angel, chill out," Gunn said forcefully. "I know it's the end of the world. You're stressed but you ain't the only one. Everyone here is edging and on a thread. But you have to deal with it. We know something's coming but if Big Bad Evil wants a surprise it's not gonna come to LA flashing its neon lights."

Angel leaned down on his fists on the table. "I know. It's just, I have everyone here and in less than five days, my son is supposed to die—again. I have no idea where he is. I don't know about Cordy—" He paused and sat back down. "What else can we do till Lorne gets here?"

Gunn smiled. "Well, there's some good news. The Power's back on."

As soon as he said that, the phone line rang making both of them jump. Angel picked it up quickly from the lobby. "Angel Investigations," he said quickly. He wondered in the back of his mind why he still said that. They were hardly an investigation team anymore. He whirled round. "Buffy," he said in amazement. "Hi."

Gunn watched from the doorway of the office to the conversation or as much as he could. Angel seemed almost thrilled that Buffy called, especially since the Spike incident. They didn't talk for very long though and from Angel's expression, it seemed that it wasn't much of a social call. When was it ever? Angel smiled slightly at the end. "I do too." He put the phone down quietly and stood in deep thought. "We have someone else to look for."

*  *  *  *  *

"No sign of him?" Giles said, putting his glasses on to look at a book.

Dawn shook her head. "No. Buffy and I looked everywhere. He's in no particular place of Sunnydale. He's literally vanished. Buffy thinks he ran away—for real. As in, he left Sunnydale to go somewhere else." She sat quietly for a moment. "Buffy called Angel in Los Angeles."

Giles raised his eyebrows. "Oh? And?"

"I don't think they have him. But Angel says he's going to keep looking apparently."

Giles let out a low hum. "Well, if Angel is dealing with things that need Willow and Spike there I doubt they'll have the time to…" he paused and cleared his throat. "He will be found, Dawn. He can't hide forever. He doesn't possess enough knowledge or skill."

"It's just that stuff that'll get him killed."

Giles turned round to look at her. "You care for his well being all of a sudden."

Dawn folded her arms. "I care. I have a right to care," she said indignantly. But then she looked worried again. "It's just…you didn't see him, Giles. He looked so scared and frightened. He'd really almost—you know—lost his mind. He wasn't scared about the First or dying because of it. He was scared about himself and how the First controlled him to get to everyone else. He was hurting."

Giles lowered his eyes. "I guess none of us really knew how much," he said quietly. "They'll find him, Willow. I have every faith in Angel and Buffy."

Dawn looked out of the window. "I hope so."

*  *  *  *  *

Andrew sat back on his heels and rocked back and forth a few times. He smiled faintly. "No, I wasn't very good with weapons. I can't sword fight. Can't do hand to hand. All I tried from Jet Li movies always meant I broke my arm or leg or something. I couldn't even use the freeze gun properly. I can do the joystick!"

Conner raised his eyebrows. He was practising his sword fighting in the warehouse. Andrew watched as he expertly manoeuvred it in his hands. He didn't even attempt to ask anything. "Freeze Gun?" Conner asked, laughing slightly. 

Andrew laughed back. "Yeah, it was cool. We froze this security guard. It was all Warren's…" he stopped for a moment.

Conner noticed how he stopped in mid-sentence. His hesitated on his sword thrust and then put his sword down. He noticed how every time Andrew mentioned Jonathan or Warren, he felt distinctly depressed again. Andrew had told him what had happened—briefly—but Conner sensed there was more to it. "Does it always hurt to mention their name? Or see them?"

Andrew poked a stick into the ground. He didn't say anything for a moment. "Sometimes. It depends what I'm thinking about." 

Conner frowned, puzzled.

"Well…it was fun. I wasn't really much of a super villain. In fact, I was a bit useless. Warren was the real genius. And Jonathan…Jonathan was just the cutest little thing. He couldn't hurt anybody. We really were a pathetic team but it was fun. We kicked ass on the slayer—" he looked down. "Then she kicked ass back on us."

"Do you miss them?" Conner asked sincerely.

Andrew shrugged. "I dunno. I miss Jonathan. He was my best friend. And I was so blind and stupid. I let the First trick me into killing him." He sniffed slightly. "I knew it couldn't be Warren but I was so sure and he made me do it. I still have nightmares of watching him dying. And all I did was stand around just watching."

Conner shivered slightly inside himself. He'd never had to kill anyone he loved before. So he would kill his father but there was no bond between them. Could he kill Cordelia? Would he in order to save mankind? He didn't know if he could do it. Obviously, Andrew had been so twisted by the First, enough to make him kill his best friend.

"When Warren and Jonathan come to me now—or when the First comes to me—I get scared. I don't want to kill people now. I'm—I'm a reformed super villain. I use my powers for good. Not that I actually own any powers, or brains…"

"There must be something. A quality."

Andrew shrugged. "I can translate a few languages. Like on that…" Andrew paused. "Hey, where is my knife?" There was a pause. "Where is it? You stole it from me!"

Conner held up the sword. "I can't give it back to you."

"You have to! It's mine. I'm like—the guardian, or the keeper. Of the knife. It belongs to me!"

"What's so special about it? There are better weapons than this." Conner held up the knife.

Andrew shook his head. "It's connected to the First. It can't have it. I have to keep the knife away from the seal that opens to the Hellmouth. If I don't—I don't even know what damage it would do." Andrew stood up and glared at Conner as much as he could. He didn't know how threatening he was being. Conner didn't look like the type of person to be unnerved easily. "Besides," he continued. "I killed Jonathan with that knife."

Conner stared down at it but keeping his sword pointed towards Andrew. "You killed your best friend with this." Andrew nodded. There was another tense moment of silence. Andrew thought he should say something. The atmosphere was getting unbearable and his desperation made his breath harder. Finally, though, Conner threw it onto the floor in front of his feet. "I don't have anything to do with saving the world. You can if you want to."

Andrew picked up his knife but didn't stop looking at Conner. The other boy had turned and was now walking to you. "What happened to you? You like, have no humour—no, nothing about you. It's all so…tortured and depressing."

Conner put his sword back. "It's a long and complicated story."

Andrew shrugged. "I'm not going anywhere—unless you decide to let me go."

Conner turned around. "I grew up in a hell dimension. Apparently, I was taken away at birth by someone who I thought was my father. I grew up around the worst looking creatures, in the most horrible environment but I got used to it. It makes you stronger, more of the hunter and the catcher. Here…it's just as bad. Only other conflicts get in the way."

"Like?"  
  


"Angel."

Andrew nodded slowly. "Oh. So I'm guessing you don't like Angel. It's just, you kind of said it in a weird way."

"They don't like me. None of them like me. They look at me and think of a teenager who knows nothing. I know more than them put together. They don't know what a hell life is like!" He kicked out at a wooden box, sending it crashing into a wall where it smashed into pieces. Andrew flinched. "My only love in this world is Cordelia. And they don't even want me to have her."

"Family's a pain," Andrew said. "I had a brother—Tucker—don't know where he is now. He summoned demons."

Conner turned towards him. "I think this is a bit different. Cordelia is what I love. She has our baby. That means something now. And I'll do anything to give Cordy and the baby what they need. Even if it means killing."

Andrew swallowed. "Cordelia's evil."

Conner just narrowed his eyes. "And how would you know?"

Andrew shrugged. "I—I don't know how. It's just that same feeling I get when I knew that Angel was your father. It's strange. But Cordelia is evil. She's working for the First."

"I don't even understand what this First is!" Conner shouted.

The door to the warehouse suddenly opened and Cordelia walked through. Andrew instinctually took a step back. This time, getting out his knife didn't even register to his brain. He didn't know how—it was like a sixth sense was telling him that something about her was wrong. Conner, though, just smiled as she walked through. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Cordelia looked at Andrew. "I thought I told you to kill him?"

Conner looked at Andrew this time. "I…I tried, Cordy. I did. And you'd know I'd do anything that the baby needed. But I can't do it. Something's holding me back."

Cordelia narrowed her eyes. Her fists clenched behind her back and Andrew stepped back again. "I agreed that he had to die. He needs to Conner. It's the only way that this will work. A brand new partnership. All this is needed to make our life perfect."

Conner turned to looked at Andrew, as though he had a new sensation. The look that Andrew saw in Conner's eyes made him think that he would actually kill him this time. He then drew back his sword but it never came down. It hovered in mid-air and his eyes dropped down. "I can't."

Cordelia sighed. "Cold. Feet," she said sharply. "Fine, then, I'll just have to do it." She grabbed Conner's sword and grabbed Andrew by his shirt bringing him forward. Andrew cried out and struggled but then became too scared to move. Cordelia had her had round his throat now, preparing to drive the sword right through his heart.

Then she stopped as well. The hand around his neck unclenched and moved to his face, grabbing his face and moving forwards. Andrew opened his eyes. Conner could see the terror imbedded in them. Frightened whimpers came from him and his body trembled all over.

He was so frightened, he could not even offer a plea.

All he could do was look at Cordelia and pray that his eyes could do all the talking. He waited for the sword to come through. He couldn't believe he had run all this way from Sunnydale to be killed. The knife would be lost and the First, in partnership with Cordelia, an evil, would wreak havoc. He couldn't tell anyone. Only Conner had an inkling about his theory and he wouldn't turn his back on Cordelia.

Cordy's mouth dropped open for a second and she let go of Andrew. He fell to the floor and didn't move. Cordelia knelt down beside him and her voice, although a whisper, seemed to echo around the warehouse. "You're a seer."

_Ooo, Tariq, you read my mind with the whole Andrew thing, did you! Well done :-)_

_More coming soon. I'm on holiday so I'll be updating from internet cafes and hotels (if they have internet, lolol) _

_Thanks to all the review, keep them up, I appreciate it. Keeps me through the writers block!_


	12. Supporters of the First

_Hello, I'm back!! everyone groans_

_Don't worry, new chapter at least!_

_Thank you reviewers, and thank you Zoe, luv you always!_

Where do we go from here: THE SUPPORTERS OF THE FIRST

Spike took a deep breath and stared at the punch bag in front of him. He clenched his fists tightly and conjured up and image to make him angry. With force, he kicked out with his leg at the punch bag, sending it swinging wildly back and forth. He hit it with his fist on the way down. It hurt more than it should've but he didn't care. Being angry meant he could hit harder and hitting was what he needed to do at the moment.

"Don't think of Buffy," he said to himself. "Don't think of sex…with Buffy. Just think of Angel, think of the First, think of me!" He lashed out again whacking the punch bag so hard that it flew off the chain it was hanging on and slammed to the floor further down. In frustration he kicked the wall as well but not hard enough for his foot to go right through.

The door opened and someone walked down the stairs. Spike didn't turn around. He just stood breathing heavily. "You gonna trash the place or come up?" Gunn's voice said down to him.

"Sod off," he shouted.

Gunn came down the stairs. "No, I don't think I will. Angel won't be too pleased you messin' up his crib. You better just do as he says."

Spike turned round and spread his hands, and bitter smile on his face. "Yeah. And we all gotta do what Angel says. He governs us all."

Gunn stood at the bottom of the stairs just glaring at him. "He's better than what you are at the moment. Angel's nice enough just to take you in. I don't know what's up with you and I don't care. Just get your ass upstairs."

Spike watched out of the corner of his eye Gunn going up the stairs. A cruel smile played on his face. "Does he always give you the orders. Do you even have a say in what you lot do anymore or is his word still bleedin' God. If I were you…I wouldn't let him boss you around. But after all, you are just the plain muscle. No thinking up in there."

Gunn came back down the stairs and walked right up to Spike. Spike straightened and looked up at him pointedly. Gunn narrowed his eyes. "You better watch what you say. You may have a grievance against Angel, man, but at least he letting you stay here. If it were me, I'd be driving the stake through you myself when you walked through the door."

"I'd jolly well like to see you try."

"Well, if you don't die or get us all killed when the apocalypse comes, we'll. Now come upstairs. Don't wan' daddy vampire to come and get you."

Gunn walked back up and Spike followed and few seconds later, kicking the punch bag again. He was angry and frustrated and in desperate need for a physical fight with someone. He stomped up the stairs to listen to Angel. "Willow, who is he exactly?"

Willow sighed. She was sitting on the couch, next to Faith. Wesley was standing next to Angel and Gunn had joined them. Lindsey was quietly standing by the side again, watching. "Andrew? Well, he's nothing really—remarkable. He's just an ordinary boy. He's Tucker's brother."

"Oh." Angel then frowned.

Willow sighed. "It's a long story. He's a former 'super villain' turned good. He's the reason the First kind of became strong. He was tricked into killing his best friend to open a seal connected to the First."

"Andrew?" Spike asked.

Willow turned round. "Oh, hey Spike," she said brightly. "Andrew's gone missing. He ran away from Sunnydale two days ago and no one's seen him. Apparently he's gone a bit hysterical and he's got the knife he used to kill Jonathan."

Spike paused. "Oh. That's bad then."

"Underestimation," Gunn muttered.

Spike frowned towards Gunn. "Well if I know sod all about the bloody knife, I'm sure you know below my knowledge. And get off my back—or I'll tear you off."

"Just leave it," Lindsey said quietly straightening up from where he was leaning against the wall. "What exactly is the problem with Andrew leaving Sunnydale? With this knife?"

Willow shrugged. "I don't exactly know. I haven't examined the knife. This is the first time it's come up. But according to Buffy, if the First needs the knife and now sees Andrew as a threat—someone he can't control—he'll kill him. We need to find him. He's the least dangerous out of all of us."

Lorne walked through the door, smiling slightly. "Buckle up, kiddos, I've got a ride that'll take us faster than any theme park. Because yours truly has found out some information."

Angel got up, suddenly optimistic. "Well?"

Lorne smiled. "Well, I had to get it from this bouncer demon—the most annoying man in your life, you have no idea. He wouldn't sing and even when he did it was awful. But anyway, he knew where Karl was hiding and I managed to find it. Completely abandoned warehouse on the other side of town. I passed by quickly and boy did I get some scary mystical vibes there."

Wesley hummed. "Karl must be using his dark magic to draw in the vampires. If that's the case then he's definitely strong. Staking him or creeping up on him won't work. You'd need to magically bind him. Willow, do you know any particular spells that can hold in a person, enough to weaken them."

Willow thought for a second. "There is a spell. It's not too strong but I'm not very good at it. The hold could be weak. But I think—Lindsey  might be able to help me. His power is probably strong than Karl's anyway."

Lindsey smiled wickedly. "Finally, something a little more challenging."

Angel grabbed his sword. "Let's go."

_New York_, 1923__

The agent hummed from behind his desk, tapping his pencil on the paper in front of him. He was a big guy and Karl felt slightly threatened but it. He wasn't really much on the physical side. He was thin and weedy and pasty looking with a nervous twitch when being given any form of third degree. "I'm afraid to say it, Karl, performance has been kinda down. The crowd aren't lovin' it, they're just likin' it and that ain't good 'nough."

"What am I supposed to do?" Karl asked.

His agent shrugged. "How should I know? I've done everything I can for you, boy, even got you into the best hot spots in town and you still screwed them up. You're never gonna make it big, you may as well quit whilst you still can."

Karl sat back and clenched his fists. "You're firing me?"

"I'm lettin' you go, kid. This is no place for you. This ain't your career obviously. I don't wanna make it sound mean but it's the truth. Something'll come up for you but I gotta work with the big names…focus attention on them."

Karl stood up and grabbed his hat. "You're going to regret this," he hissed. "Fine, you won't appreciate at me as musician but you'll pay for it. Someday I'll so big you'll be lapping at my feet to take me back."

"Somehow I doubt that but whatever works for you."

Karl stormed out of the office and out into the street. It was pouring down with rain at this time of year in the city and he hated it. His apartment was only a couple of blocks away but he would get drenched. He didn't have any money for a cab. He pulled up the collar of his trench coat and looked across the street, opposite the theatre.

There he saw something that made his heart almost leap. He ran across the road, narrowly avoiding a car and came to the person sitting at the bench. "Hey," he said.

The person looked at him. Then again, Karl knew it wasn't a person. It was a vampire. "What?"

"Listen, I'm Karl. You don't know me but I know you. Or at least, know what you are. You have to help me."

Angel looked away. "I'm not in the business of helping people. Go away."

Karl shook his head. "No, you have to. I'm offering myself to you. Go ahead, bite me, I don't care, I want it." He pulled his trench coat collar and shirt aside to reveal his neck. Angel looked at it and then looked away but his eyes glossed over the neck again, being exposed to him, just waiting to be bitten. He licked his lips slightly but then looked away, trying to compose himself.

"No. Now go away. Don't make me do anything."

"Please."

Angel got up and pushed Karl into the wet street. "No. Now go away!" With that, he stormed off down the street.

Karl picked himself up off the ground. He was soaking wet but that didn't seem to matter again. He was beside himself with anger. In fury, he kicked out at a puddle. He knew who the vampire was. He had only begun collecting the old books from magic shops and being interested in the occult but Angelus was one of the vampires that featured often. A soul had really twisted his morals and nature. Frowning, Karl walked back to his apartment, now even more focused than ever to find away out of the pain in this world and lead a more free life.

He wanted to be noticed.

*  *  *  *  *

All these years later, he finally got his wish. He sat on a high chair in the back of a room, waiting. He was thinking. Further behind him were the texts he had been reading and ancient scrolls laid out on the floor. He was fed up with working now. He had searched high and low for his text and finally found it so now settled back in his chair, simply thinking.

His ultimate sacrifice to the First would have to be something great, that was for sure. The First was putting its trust in him. Karl and his followers were the ones providing it with the energy of ancient chants dating before written scrolls and human sacrifices much more worthy and powerful than any form of power. 

Serpentine came through and smiled sweetly. "It's all ready," she said in a bright voice. One again, she walked forward and climbed onto Karl's lap. "They're all doing the ritual assigned to them. They should be burning the virgin's marked body right as we speak, honey." She leaned forward to kiss Karl passionately and he responded for a few seconds before pulling away. Serpentine looked at him. "Now, what you go and do that for."

"I'm not in the mood right now," Karl said, shifting backwards.

Serpentine slid off him and walked off huffily. "You're never in the right mood these days. It's always so serious so one focused. You ain't got no time for me any more. Am I boring now? Have my looks faded?"

"You're neither boring nor faded, beautiful, but right now, things are very—tight. You should know that. The First is relying on us. We could get our big reward. We could _own _Los Angeles if everything goes to plan. This city is our oyster just waiting to be opened."

"With all its glorious pearls," Serpentine muttered. "I know. But the First must have some kind of feeling. It's spoiling all my fun. It's making you into a jerk."

A laugh rippled from somewhere and a woman dressed in a long silver dress walked out. She had long blond hair and a fair complexion. She looked rather plain. "Now, now, Serpentine, don't ruin all Karl's fun as well. You know that he's thinking hard to make me bigger and stronger."

Serpentine's eyes glowed angrily as she morphed into her vamp face. "Karl!" she screamed with hurt in her voice. "Why does it always have to come as your ex-wife. Why can't you change into something else, something ugly."

Karl sighed. "Serpentine, go and see how the ritual is doing." Serpentine pouted. "Now." She ran off, knowing she wasn't going to get her own way. Karl sat back and looked at the First in thought. "You know, I never realized how beautiful you were when I had you. Why I killed you is beyond my thought. I suppose the vampire instincts were too hard."

"I hear forcing the form of a demon within yourself my magic is more vicious than having the demon simply coming out the normal vampire way. But I see Serpentine is much more annoyed."

Karl sighed and got off his seat. "She'll come around. But now, I have something to show. I found the incantation for the ritual I those books that you led me to. I had to kill the shopkeeper to find it but they were there. The words to the sacrifice are all written out here. All I have to do is find the sacrifice and do it when the moon is full—which is tomorrow night."

"Excellent," the First said. "Do you have a volunteer."

Karl laughed. "If only that were possible. Some of the more positive followers volunteered but their blood cannot match your standard. It's too plain. So I think the safest option would be Angel."

The First posing as his ex wife raised an eyebrow. "Really? How convenient considering I planned to eradicate him myself. His plans could seriously get in my way. But as it were, Angel is much stronger with you, even with your power."

Karl laughed. "He alone cannot match me."

The First shook its head. "No, not alone. But he has enough supporters of his own to do serious damage. He has powers on his side which could outmatch yours. They could destroy your ritual. Unless a miracle would occur to capture Angel and killed all of his clan was to happen, here is no chance."

Karl frowned. "Then what would you propose?"

The First pushed all the books aside and sat on a table. "There is an ally of Angels that has come into the city a few days ago. A boy by the name of Andrew. He doesn't know what kind of power he has yet. He is a seer, sent from the Powers that Be that are meant to guide Angel. If they were to meet, then even more good forces would be on Angel's side."

"A seer?"

"One with the sight, the visions to see events that will commence. But he has an even more special power behind him. He can see more than what will happen. He can see _into _people, if you understand what I mean."

Karl nodded and put a book down. "Yes. Yes, I believe I do. He poses as a great threat to you."

"He also holds a very valuable possession."

"Then I gather you shall want this possession back. I'll do everything in my power to return it to you. I shall use this boy as your sacrifice. He would almost certainly extend beyond anything that Angel could give. But what are we to do about them."

The First held out its hands. "I am unable to do anything about that. My other soul ally in the city is a second power, another evil brought into this dimension who also has yet to take on a form. They are unable to kill the boy because of the sight he possesses but you, a vampire with no conscience or guilt should have no trouble and will not be held back by what he is."

Karl nodded. "I shall send someone to get him."

The First slid off the table. "I might warn you that Angel knows that you are here. He knows where you are hiding and he shall come at any moment. I suggest you retreat to a different location and perform the ritual there." The First vanished leaving Karl thinking for a moment beside his table and books.

Then he walked back out into the main area. A strong smell of burning and rot went through the air. It gave Karl and pleasant feeling. He had always liked fire. He clapped his hands. "Brothers and sisters!" he called out loudly and they all stopped. "Hold what you are doing! News has come from our master. We are to leave this vicinity before the powers that try to overthrow us arrive."

"Too late." Karl turned round at the voice and looked towards the entrance of the doorway where Angel had just entered. From other entrances his forces had arrived, surrounding them, armed in all sorts of ways.

"Angel!" Karl shouted. "I'm glad you have finally come. Now we have a chance to meet again, in different circumstances. Kill them all!"

The fighting commenced and Karl looked on from his podium. He heard a shot sound from behind him and he spun round and caught the crossbow that had been on the path to his heart. He snapped it in two. "Slayer," he called down to Faith. "I admit your determination and aim but you'll have to do better than that."

"Oh I will," Faith said to herself.

Wesley grabbed her arm. "Be careful," he said and she nodded.

Karl watched as the battle commenced. Although his numbers were many, Angel's army was stronger. His vampires were untrained that had come from all over where he had summoned them. They were large in number but useless. Angel's army was trained. They knew how to fight. The screams of vampires echoed in the air.

It was a carnage in the warehouse. The dust of vampires almost choked them. They were being killed off one by one. 

Gunn swung his axe round, expertly and chopped a vampires head. It screamed as it scattered into millions of pieces on the floor but his momentum meant he almost knocked Spike. "Watch where you swing that thing. You almost had my head."

"Like what would be a bad thing."

Spike was about to advance towards Gunn but a random vampire from the side beat him to it, sending Gunn to the floor with the vampire on top. His axe went flying across the floor. The vampire had the advantage of surprise and growled down at Gunn who was shocked. Before he knew it, he felt teeth coming down towards his neck and a piercing of his skin.

He cried out and kicked in desperation but in the chaos of the warehouse no one seemed to notice. Then the vampire seemed to explode on him. Gunn coughed and breathed heavily, shocked by the sudden attack. Spike helped him to his feet.

"Don't do me no favors, man," Gunn said, holding a hand to the wound on his neck.

"I wasn't. I did myself a favour. Angel would kill me if I let any of you die. Just watch out." Gunn glared at Spike. He knew his wound was bad but at least they were winning the fight.

Karl knew that too. He decided that now was the time to retreat. He motioned for Serpentine to follow. She had been cowering in the corner behind some tattered curtains but followed Karl to a back entrance which Angel didn't seem to know about. Karl looked behind him and then forward again to find someone standing in front of him. "Stay," Willow said.

There was a screaming sound behind Karl and when he turned around, Serpentine had been reduced to dust on the floor and behind her was standing Lindsey, armed with a stake. He looked straight at him. "Bastard," Karl spat. "Witch! All possessing powers. What do you think you will do?"

Willow smiled. "Bind you. Reve tempori, non Sanctus. Dos mei Domini fortue!" Karl flew backwards on the floor suddenly find himself very stiff. He attempted to get up and with some difficulty managed to.

"Do you think such a simple spell will weaken me? My power shall regenerate."

"We know," Lindsey said. "That's why we took extra precautions. I think you'll enjoy this one." He lifted out his hand touching Karl's arm and the vampire flew back again, landing on his knees as Lindsey forced him down with his power. He could feel the dark magic with Karl arising, trying to defeat so he tried harder to force it down and keep it down so Karl could be bound until they reached the Hyperion.

Lindsey's body shook with the force of the power he was releasing. He closed his eyes, trying not to feel the pain. Willow put an encouraging hand on his shoulder. Lindsey took a step back and then from his hand let out a single burst of green light which hit Karl in the chest. Karl flew back and his eyes closed. Lindsey smiled weakly at Willow and then dropped to the ground himself.

*  *  *  *  *

Andrew had fallen asleep. The overwhelming tiredness had finally consumed and he fell into a restless sleep in the warehouse. Just to be sure, Cordelia made Conner tie his hands and feet, which he did so reluctantly. Conner stood up and watched the boy as he tossed restlessly in his sleep, sometimes muttering incoherently.

"What did you say before?" Conner said to Cordy. "You said he had some kind of sight."

Cordelia frowned, wrapping her arms around herself. "He has the sight. He had the visions which I had. The Powers have taken them away from me and put them into this foolish boy. He was probably making his way towards Angel."

Conner frowned and looked back at Andrew. "Maybe we should let him go back to Angel. We have nothing to do the battle they're fighting but we want them to win against the end of the world. Why not just let him go. He's no use to us here."

Cordelia turned around and walked away to the old couch in the warehouse. "We can't do that," she answered, her voice echoing around the emptiness. "We were told that we had to kill him. We need to in order for everything to work out, to make our lives worthwhile and our child happy."

Conner didn't say anything that Andrew had told him. Suddenly he was very unsure. If Andrew had been telling the truth then everything Cordelia said would have been a lie. It did seem that Cordelia was partnering with something evil known as the First. Her intentions were evil…kill a harmless boy who could barely attack with words because Cordy said so? Conner found himself at a crossing point but he decided to go with Cordelia.

"Why couldn't we kill him?" Conner asked. "You felt it to. You looked at him, you were so close to killing him and in the final second you couldn't. What's with that? I felt the same thing."

Cordelia frowned at Andrew who had turned restlessly again and mumbled something. "We needed the blood of the innocent to bring forth our baby. He was guilty, but since getting the sight he has been purified. Now with the visions, lives of people hang in the balance, people who may have already died. Those deaths are on his hands. He doesn't work for us."

"But what has that got to do with us not being able to kill him."

"He may not have been able to save lives but originally, having the visions were not his choice. He's more special than I am. He has more power than I was given. His conscience is so pure now that it pains for us to kill him."

"Why, because we're guilty?" Conner asked. "Because we killed people to get to where we are? We hurt, we lied? Is that why we can't kill him? Because he's like a saint."

Cordelia frowned. "The Powers are protecting him."

In the back of his mind, Conner knew that the Powers were for good. If they were protecting this boy he and Cordelia shouldn't be standing in the way. But he thought for the good of the baby it had to be done. "Then what do we do if _we _can't kill him?"

"We wait," Cordelia said. "There's a difference from us physically killing him with, say, a sword, and just…well, leaving him to die." She turned around and finally sat on the couch, feeling no guilt. Inside, the real Cordy wept.


	13. Interrogation

_Okay, by request of Shadid, (and very vital, thanks for the idea) I now have a chapter summary at the beginning to say what happened last. So last chapter_

_It was decided that Andrew needed to be found and the gang headed off in search of Karl._

_Karl's past is revealed to us and showing his collaboration with the First, who now thinks that Andrew needs to be disposed of as he is too much of a threat._

_But before that can happen, the gang burst in and ruin his ritual project. Gunn was badly bitten but saved by Spike reluctantly and Lindsey and __Willow__ attempt to try and hold Karl. Lindsey eventually manages to weaken him so they can take him back to the hotel but has been knocked unconscious._

_And Andrew receives his First vision although there seems to be something wrong with him. Cordelia works out about Andrew and if they can't kill him he will be left to die._

_Dramatic, huh.__ Lol, well kept up the reviews people, I starve for feedback, just like any good author. I have now written the whole story. There is scoobie action coming with the potentials and Oz is making an appearance. Just be patient. Thank you by constant reviewers Shadid and Tariq and Imzadi. Thank you Zoe my beta reader._

_Enough jabbering, on with the story. _

Where do we go from here: INTERROGATION

The casualties seemed minimum. In fact, Angel was amazed with how much they got away. Returning to the Hyperion with their kidnap, the healing process was now in order. The vampire had got a good bite at Gunn's neck. It hurt a lot when he moved and all the way back, the blood didn't really stop flowing. He held up a bandaged cloth towards it, now practically soaked in red.

Fred took the bandage off and examined the wound and then got the medical kit. Willow anxiously looked on, seeing that the damage was not great but enough to make his neck hurt for a while.

Spike had taken Lindsey upstairs to one of the rooms. The ex-lawyer had still not woken up from his exhausting battle with Karl. It seemed that all that mystical energy had taken its toll on the younger man and both he and the vampire collapsed from the clashing of forces.

Faith looked up the stairs. "He'll wake up, right?"

Willow wrinkled her nose and nodded. "Yeah, he should do in no time. It's just a bout of tiredness. He'll sleep it off and be back to his—quiet self, I'm sure. 

"Where have we put Karl?"

"Downstairs," Wesley replied quietly. "We're holding him in the steel cage we held Angelus in. Willow has put an enclosing spell on it so he shouldn't be able to use any his powers if they so happened to regenerate again. It makes it easier to interrogate."

Angel shook his head. "I don't want to interrogate him just yet," he said, walking across the other side of the room. He took his axe. "Not until Lindsey wakes up. I want more powerful protection."

Wesley looked at him. "You don't believe he's secure."

"He knew a lot of magic the last time _I _saw him," Spike said, coming back down the stairs. "Must 'ave been what—1980? But he—he advanced. Seriously." 

Angel nodded. "I've never seen him use such magic and he could pull anything. I'm not putting anyone in danger down there because he has some kind of leftover trick up his sleeve."

"Why the axe then?" Faith demanded.

"We don't know if the remainders of those followers will come back. I mean, after Karl fell, most of them split but if any of them were true followers, they could come back. I suggest you all arm yourselves with something, even if it's a stake and watch out for anyone who decides to come."

There was silence for a moment. Wesley opened his mouth and then closed it. Then he took a deep breath. "What happened the last time you saw Karl?"

_Prague__ 1980_

Spike glared at the newcomer, annoyed at having been interrupted from a moment with Dru. The newcomer didn't seem that afraid by the stare, though. He was quite unfazed. This Karl differed to the slightly hysterical and nervous one that Angel had seen sixty years ago. As he came into view, Spike could sense he would like him less and less.

"Ooo," Drusilla said, standing up and walking up to the Spike. "This one is special."

Spike rolled his eyes. "So was the one before and so will be the next one."

Dru narrowed her eyes and purred at Karl. "Can't you see it, Spike? He's glowing. He's shimmering like little water droplets—all lying in the sun. You want to knock them out of the way."

"I fancy doing some knocking," Spike said. "Who're you, then?"

The newcomer smiled. "Karl."

Spike frowned. "Well, I was expecting some cheesy name like…well some comic hero stuff. You passed that one, mate. Now, what the hell are you doing here? Can't you see I'm doing something."

"Be calm, Spike. Our guest is special. Our guest has power."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "Power? Crystal ball power? Psychic power?" He looked at Karl for an explanation.

"Dark arts."

"Oh, the messy kind of power, then. The one that always winds up against you and you're the one that ends up killed—or staked. Don't like it. Now sod off."

Dru pouted at him. "Spike. I want to see the show. I want to see what he can do. He can paint fire in the sky, make them join the lovely stars. And then burn them out till there's a black hole. He can make blood in the cruellest ways, in the ways that we can't do."

Karl smiled. "Thank you, my dear. The compliments always welcome." He lifted her hand and kissed it slightly.

Dru giggled. "Look, a gentleman vampire." Spike growled. "Now, Spike, don't worry. We're going to have a massacre tonight. And a different massacre. Our guest can help us tear the flesh."

Karl lifted his hands and from it sad a tiny red flame. "All the power is yours, _mate, _just in my hands. He lifted the flame to Spike's arm and felt searing hot pain rift up his arm.

Spike screamed and pushed him away. "Fuck off, you bloody tosser. What d'yu think you're trying to do. If you think you're getting in with us, you got another thing coming. Take you magic and piss off 'cause we don't want it."

Karl stood up, his yellow eyes glowing. He clenched his fists. "_Erimi per sancti dei mangus fueros._" The air around them seemed to shake from the vibrations. The ground shook beneath them as well. Smoke and fire billowed up for a second, matching Karl's apparent anger. Then it died, leaving the smouldering remains on the floor of Spike's hideout.

"I searched far for you," he said, his eyes now returning to normal. "The great William the Bloody—Spike. I came bearing a gift and you pushed me away. I hope you're cursed but I hope you live long enough to see me triumph over your pathetic title." With that, he stomped out of the room.

"Oh…Oh," Dru moaned, walking away from Spike, taking two steps forward towards the door.

"Don't worry, pet. We're better off without him."

Dru shook her head. "He's a vampire. But he's not. He has the teeth, the evil and no soul. But he's no vampire."

"What do you mean, love?"

"He wasn't made a vampire. He was made magically."

* * * * *

Andrew opened his eyes and looked around. He was surrounded by darkness. Obviously it was dark outside and the large void in the warehouse didn't make it any better. Andrew was starving…and thirsty…and tired. He had hardly any energy left in him at all. The only thing he'd eaten or drank was the little amount of tea Conner had given him when he'd first arrived.

He laid his head back on the ground and waited. He waited for any kind of sound or sign. "La cucaracha," he said to himself lightly, to stop the constant silence through the warehouse. There seemed no sounds of cars anywhere. In the distance some dog was barking constantly.

"Conner?" he called faintly, sitting up this time. He coughed, a dry, raw cough from lack of fluids. There was no answer, though. "Conner!" he shouted even louder. But still there was no reply. Andrew pushed himself back against the wall tiredly and began to close his eyes.

Just as he did, though, he felt a sensation creeping into the back of his head. And as it came closer, his eyes snapped open wildly and his head flew back. Suddenly, his whole head seemed to be engulfed in pain. He put his hands up to his temples and kneeled forward in an effort for the pain to disappear.

Images flashed through his mind. Broken, fragmented flashes. Of a man, unconscious, being dragged away by what looked like a cult. Hooded men and one carrying a stick. In an instant, the vision ended, leaving Andrew gasping on the floor. He felt like throwing up but there was no one here. Instead, he collapsed on the ground, his head hurting, gasping and sobbing at the same time.

* * * * *

Gunn folded his arms and he leaned to the side towards Lindsey. "You look like crap," he said.

Lindsey smiled tiredly. "Thanks. I feel crap."

"You sure you're up for this."

Lindsey nodded. "I have to be. I came to do this stuff. If I can be used, may as well make the most of it." He walked forward towards the cage where Karl was sitting in the far corner. He had woken up now and glared at them through narrowed eyes. So far, he had not said a word.

"Nice to see you again, Karl," Angel said, walking over to where Lindsey was standing. "Sorry about the accommodation but you'll get used to it. I spent some time in here as well."

Karl growled loudly and lunged towards him. Lindsey held out his hand and Karl felt himself struck, being propelled into the other side of the wall. He breathed heavily. "You were better soulless, Angelus. You too, Spike. Look at you, all gone soft, and pathetic. All for the good, ey? You abandon what you are, pretending that it's not you."

"Oh, I know it's me," Angel said. "I can just control it. Now, my friend here, possesses a very special kind of power…"

Karl nodded. "I know," he murmured. "Calatine. I spent years looking for it myself."

Lindsey smiled. "Good, so you know the damage it can do." He knelt down and looked through the bars menacingly. He pointed to his hand. "I've had this for about a year. I've grown accustomed to it and although I don't know everything, I can cause some serious damage. If you don't answer Angel's questions, I'll char grill you just for starters."

Karl simply glared again.

"I'm going to make this simple, Karl," Angel said. "You are somehow connected to the First. You've been bringing all these vampires from the surrounding areas. Why? What's the First's plan?"

Karl looked away. "Bite me."

Spike screwed up his face. "Err, no thanks. You're a disgrace to all vampires. You couldn't become one the normal way so you lost your soul through magic. That's not proper vampire."

Karl laughed and it echoed round the basement. It was a strange high pitched laugh, the kind that came from a hysterical mental person. Angel looked over Wesley, who simply shrugged. Spike frowned at what he said being laughed at. He was being completely serious. "I'm a disgrace? _I'm _a disgrace. Yet who has the more supporters? Who is more powerful?"

"Who's the one in the cage," Faith snapped.

Karl's laughed dimmed down to a chuckle. "So what? I still own my power. Your little boy here does not have enough power to take it away from me. The dark arts are very strong, I'll have you know." Karl shook his head in disappointment. "You should have taken up on the First's offer when he gave it to you. You turned down the opportunity of a lifetime. I've never felt so occupied, so needed since working for the First."

"What were you doing? Bringing in the demons as the First's army?"

"Something like that."

"Karl!" Angel looked at Lindsey who let lose a flame into the cage. Karl jumped back in surprise, half expecting his coat to be on fire. A horrible smell of singed hair was smelt and Karl looked around. The little fireball had erupted in front of him. Now angry, he lifted both his hands, chanted something in Latin and let lose his own spell. Except when it reached the bars of the cage, it bounced back and hit him, sending him sprawling again.

"You'll have to thank Willow for that spell," Wesley said, still holding the tranquilizer gun.

"Witches," Karl muttered, spitting out blood.

"Karl, you have two options," Angel said. "Either you can tell us what is going on around the First and we can let you live, outside a protection spell. Or, if you don't, we'll go elsewhere for our information and kill you. It would be such a shame to have died when barely one hundred years old. And magic is so much more painful than a stake through the heart."

There was a pause. Karl contemplated his options. He sat back and stared thoughtfully into the space. "I have no idea what the First's plans are on a whole…"

"Kill him," Spike growled.

"…But, I worked for him to make him stronger. Our cult brought in sacrifices, each week, something greater. In the end, it was going to be you, Angel. The First feeds off the energy and becomes stronger and will eventually enter the world at its strongest form, capable of causing destruction itself instead of simply harbouring bodies."

"Why are the vampires coming here?" Faith demanded.

"It's a reward," Karl answered. "I was doing good work for the First. It was going to give LA as the vampire ground once all the humans had died in it. Then he would continue with the rest of the world, including the Slayer. LA has a large population to satisfy its needs."

"That's all you know?" Angel said.

"Just about. Oh and the First has an ally," Karl answered, absently looking at his nails. "I have no idea who it is."

"Must be that evil from QuorToth."

"And it has a threat. I had an assignment to kill a boy by the name of Andrew. The First was very insistent that I killed him. It seemed no one else was able to it. He has the Sight, particular power from the Powers that Be. He has an extra power of looking into people. A rare gift."

Willow's mouth dropped open. "Oh my God, Andrew?" she said in disbelief. "He has the visions? Who would've thought. Angel, we need to find him." She glared at Karl. "Where is he?"

Karl shrugged. "Some warehouse. And one other thing. The First will come looking for me now. I need protection. And if you want to kill it. I think I may know someone that can help you."

Angel walked back. "Tell us."

"I want the protection."

"We have a witch and the power of Calatine. Now tell us."

"It's in another dimension called Lamithra. It can be opened from any book. An old widow demon lives there, she knows about the First. It might come in useful."

They abandoned Karl in the cage downstairs and went up the lobby. Willow sat down on the banquet. "Andrew has the visions. I can't believe it. He ran away from Sunnydale with the knife. He must have been drawn here somehow, probably by the Powers that Be. Angel, he's in great danger."

Angel frowned. "I thought you didn't particularly like this guy."

Willow sighed. "Andrew's…reformed. Once you'll see him, you understand. He's technically incapable of hurting anyone but the First messed with his mind and made him kill his best friend. Buffy says that Dawn found out from Andrew that the reason he left was because the First was messing with him. We need to find him."

"If we find Andrew, then we could also get a link to Cordy and Conner, considering they're connected to this other evil." Angel thought for a moment. "Fred, Willow, I want you to take supplies, you're going to go to this other dimension Karl was talking about."

Fred's eyes widened. "Angel, you can't be serious. We don't even know if this place is true. Or what he's saying is true."

Angel shook his head. "I believe him this time. Take all the magic supplies you need and go there. The rest of you follow me. We're going to raid these old warehouses and find Andrew before the First does." 

They headed out with their weapons and there was silence in the lobby. Fred and Willow looked at each other with their eyebrows raised. Angel seemed final about his decision, there was no turning back. "Oh well," Willow said. "Better do as the boss says. I have a list of things that are useful for inter-dimension travel. Maybe we could use them. And certain spells."

Fred nodded silently and Willow understood her concern. She was equally as worried. "Don't worry, kids," Lorne said coming up to them. "I know you're a little worried but I have faith in you. We need to do this, though. It's our only hope of finding out about this big bad spirit thing."

* * * * *

Karl sat in his little cage, looking around. He could do no magic. Karl hated it when he couldn't do magic, even if it was small things like moving stars or twisting metal. It was now his past time. Some people liked to draw, some people liked to read, Karl preferred doing his magic, reading the ancient dark arts and practising them. But now he had no books and no ability.

He walked up and went to the bar and touched it lightly. What seemed like thousands upon thousands of electrical volts passed through him in that instant but he pulled his hands away. Obviously this was not going to be much use.

"Fuck it," he muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, I would've said the same thing."

Karl turned around. There she was. Karl swallowed slightly, knowing that this time would've come eventually. "Serpentine," he said. He marvelled at the extreme likeness, just as he did with his former wife. It was like looking at the live twin.

"But it's not you. Welcome, First, to my humble surroundings."

Serpentine walked towards the cage. "I am not amused," she told him. "Did you think that I would not hear, or even notice? I can see everything and I paid particular attention to you after Angel came in. I must admit, sugar, I'm a bit disappointed in you right. You girlfriend died whilst you tried to get away. You didn't look after her well."

Karl knew if he reached out to touch her he'd be electrocuted but that his hand would also pass right through her. "I know. And I'm so sorry." He snapped out of it and shook his head. This was not Serpentine. "I know why you are here. I can offer no explanation, no apology." 

Serpentine nodded. "Good. I didn't want an explanation or apology because I know all of your reasons. You became weak. It's a shame, I was disappointed. I thought I could put my trust in you."

Karl backed away. "I didn't tell them everything."

"You told them about Lamithra. That alone is enough to destroy me and my ally. You would rather side with the forces of goodness than continue you dark roots. That's just a sign of weakness and I don't do weakness."

Karl felt the wall against his back. "I didn't tell them everything. I can still do the job if you help me out of here. I know where Angel is going. We can get to the boy before Angel does."

Serpentine shook her head. "Too late, sugar." Karl's muffled screams were not heard above in the lobby.


	14. Into Darkness

_Another time, another update. So, where were we?_

_The gang come back from their battle and recover from their injuries. Gunn's neck is fine but Lindsey is still unconscious. Karl is being held downstairs._

_Spike reveals how he remembers Karl back when he and Dru were in __Prague__. He was powerful but they turned him down. Dru had sensed his power._

_Andrew receives a vision in the midst of his illness but he doesn't know what it is._

_Angel, Lindsey and everyone interrogate a very reluctant Karl but with some threatening he reveals how he worked for the First to draw in the vampires. LA was going to become a demon ground once the First wins as a reward._

_He says the First has an ally which they work out is the evil from Quortoth_

_He says the First is looking for Andrew because he is a threat with special powers. Angel and the gang work out he has the visions and demand to know where to find him._

_And he says that more information can be found on the First by speaking to an old widow in another dimension. Angel decides to send __Willow__ and Fred there._

_Whilst Angel, Spike, Wes, Faith and Gunn go to find Andrew and __Willow__ and Fred are researching, Karl sees the First in the form of Serpentine. Disappointed by his betrayal, she kills him._

_Another dramatic ending. To be followed by another dramatic review. Don't forget, kiddies, read and review. I will give you cookies!!!_

_P.S I shout out a huge, massive, indescribable apology to shahid for spelling her name wrong. I'm so sorry…_

Where do we go from here: INTO DARKNESS

Kennedy wrapped her arms around her knees. The rest of the potentials were all training in the basement. She sat down on one of the crash mats watching. "Kennedy," Rona said. "Aren't you coming? Buffy said we had to get psyched up. She's taking us out into the field tonight to one of the crypts."

"I'm coming," she said, getting up. She took her place by one of the punch bags and started kicking it with her stronger leg as hard as she could. She wished it would just fly into the wall and give her some satisfaction.

Amanda looked on, confused. "Kennedy? Are you okay?"

Kennedy was about to answer when suddenly the phone rang. She abandoned her punch bag and ran up the stairs. Confused, most of the other potentials followed her to the phone. Buffy and Xander were already there. "Put it on loudspeaker," she instructed.

BUFFY: Hello?

WILLOW: Hey, Buffy, it's me.

BUFFY: Willow, is everything all right there?

WILLOW: Don't worry, Buffy, everyone's fine, I'm fine, Spike's fine, Angel's fine. Nothing dangerous has really happened since the last time we spoke.

KENNEDY: Willow?

WILLOW: Hey, Kennedy. Hope you're all right.

Dawn came into the room as well when she heard the phone ring. And when she heard Willow's voice, she pushed her way through the crowd of potentials that were surrounding it. 

DAWN: Have you found Andrew?

WILLOW: That's what I'm phoning about.

DAWN: He's not…

WILLOW: Oh, no, no, Dawnie, he's not dead. We roughly know where he is, we just haven't got there yet. Angel and everyone are out getting him. He should be back in no time. But he's going to have to stay here.

BUFFY: Why?

WILLOW: Well, the first was after him. In fact, it was right on Andrew's trail and pretty much ready to kill him. But it seems that it's not because of Andrew's knowledge and the knife. Andrew now has special powers. The visions that Cordelia had? Well, they've been passed on to Andrew. That makes him Angel's link to the high powers.

BUFFY: Andrew? With vision powers? Who would've thought. He's going to be okay, though.

WILLOW: Well, yeah, I think so. They haven't come back yet. I'll be sure to make Angel give you a call as soon as it's worked out.

DAWN: Make sure you do.

Willow hung up after the goodbyes were made. Dawn took a deep breath and sighed happily. Although Andrew wasn't out of complete danger, it seemed that he was going to be all right for the most part. She ha faith that Angel will get there.

"All right, kid?" Xander asked.

Dawn smiled and nodded, hugging Xander.

*  *  *  *  *

Conner walked into the warehouse. It was still pitch black. Cordy was sleeping in one of the other rooms. He turned on the torch and looked around to make sure he didn't trip over. Eventually, he made his way over to the other side and lit a proper lantern. Andrew was still asleep. He was curled up tight and now shivering. Conner could tell that his blood was too fast and his breathing slightly strange.

Conner looked away, trying to get rid of his conscience. He wanted to badly to help the boy but he couldn't.  He knew he couldn't. He couldn't give him anything—juice or a biscuit—because that would help his recovery.

Andrew coughed and opened his eyes slightly. Conner smiled faintly. "Hey."

Andrew closed his eyes again. "Let me go," he muttered incoherently as he turned around. "And give back the knife. Don't let her control you. The darkness is coming…the First is coming…"

Conner frowned. It sounded as though Andrew was awake when in fact, he was still sleeping. He felt very warm and his shivering form suggested that he was ill. Guilt welled up inside Conner again. As he peered over Andrew, the boy's eyes opened wide and scarily. He looked at Conner without actually seeing him.

"All going to die," he muttered. "I saw it. I saw it in the vision. Someone." He half closed his eyes again and turned onto his side. Then he gave a scream that sounded like someone in agony. It made Conner jump and he backed away. "Jonathan!" he cried. He started flapping wildly. "Go away! Go away, it's not you. I killed you, you're dead. Leave me alone, First." His demand turned into pleading sobs. "Please, leave me alone." He brought his hands up to his voice, as if to blot out images that only he could see. 

Cordy came out of her room and looked at Conner who was still watching the confused Andrew. "What's going on?" she asked. "I thought I heard some kind of scream."

Conner nodded. "He cried out in his sleep. I think he's ill. He's been talking nonsense, tossing in his sleep and seeing some kind of imaginary things." Conner shivered slightly. "It's scary. Cordy, this isn't right. We can't just kill him because something comes and tells you to. If it's not for our baby, let's just let him go. Let him go to Angel and battle this stupid war."

"No!" Cordy retorted harshly. "We are not letting him go. Eventually, it all boils down to our baby. He needs to die in order for the plan to work out." She walked over to Conner and ran her hands through his hair whilst looking down at Andrew, still muttering something in his sleep. "It won't be long now, Conner, just don't think about him."

"It's hard."

"Then you shouldn't have made friends with him. You knew he was going to die either way. That was no reason for you to start sharing stories."

Andrew tossed wildly again. "Warren! Go away! You murdered her. You murdered Katrina. How could you."

Then, as soon as he said, he was quiet, his breath evening out slightly but still laboured. He still shivered. There was silence once again in the warehouse. He remained perfectly still. Conner watched and then turned around, feeling angry at himself. He wanted to hit something badly but there was nothing to hit. Ideally, he would have gone out and staked some vampires but he didn't want to leave Cordy alone in case that thing came back. 

A crash sounded from somewhere and both Conner and Cordelia turned to the direction of the door. "What was that?" Cordelia asked fearfully, preparing to grab some kind of weapon if she had to.

Conner shrugged. "It came from one of the other warehouses though. I'll be back in a minute."

In fact, Angel had just burst out of one of the other warehouses and met up with the others in the middle. He shook his head. "There's no one in there. Most of them are bolted and abandoned."

Lindsey shook his head. "We're close," he said. "I can feel something." He led the way to one of the other factories, passed a pile of steel drums where Conner was standing. Quickly, he ran down the other side of the warehouse and went through the door.

"Cordy!" he said. "We have to leave now. Angel and everyone are here. I don't know how they found us, but they did." He grabbed his sword and a stake whilst collecting a bunch of blankets and rations they still had. He glanced over at Andrew once, realizing this could be a way to save him.

"We have to take him," Cordelia said, walking over to Andrew.

Conner wrenched her hand away from his arm. "No. He will only slow us down if we have to carry him. Angel will catch us easily. He's not important to us, Cordelia, only getting out of here and keeping our baby safe is. Now go." Cordelia looked worried for a moment. She looked at Andrew and then Conner. Realizing that she wasn't going to be able to do anything she nodded. There was no way that Conner would be able to kill him. The Powers had taken care of that.

As Conner was about to leave, he felt someone grab his wrist and he stared in shock. Andrew seemed to be awake. His glazed eyes and sweat covered face were turned towards him. "Don't go," he said. "It's death. You'll die. She's a black queen—fiend queen. She's leading you to her death."

Conner shook her head. "Our baby. Our love, it won't…"

Andrew shook his head. "It will find a way." He closed his eyes and threatened to collapse. Conner wasn't sure if this was Andrew hallucinating again or not. But he looked up again. "Conner," he tried to say. "Don't."

The doors to the warehouse suddenly burst open and Angel walked in, with Wesley, Faith, Lindsey, Gunn and Spike, all armed with something. Angel sensed someone running away but it too dark and whoever it was, was much too fast.

"Don't go!" a desperate shout cried through the warehouse and there came the sound of thrashing. "Why are you leaving? Why did you leave me! Warren, Jonathan! Why."

Spike looked forward. "Holy crap," he said and ran forward towards the boy. "Andrew. Andrew! Wake up you little brat!"

Andrew turned his eyes over to the vampire. "Get the knife. Must get the knife. Mustn't let the First get it or use it. Could make people die. I could make people die. Get the knife." He tried to get out of Spike's grip. His eyes were open but darting everywhere around the blackened factory. It was like he was claustrophobic and trying to get out of something. Spike looked down on him in amazement.

Gunn approached with the others. "He looks ill," he said. "Like some kind of fever."

Spike stood up. "Find the knife," he instructed. "The boy's talking bollocks but we do need to find that knife."

As Spike, Angel and Lindsey looked for the knife, Gunn helped Faith getting Andrew up. Gunn lifted him up easily. The boy was shaking in his arms. "Have you found it?" he asked. "'Cause this kid is sick. He needs help right now. This ain't no type of vision sickness either." Angel found the knife, scattered amongst some stuff that had been hurriedly collected and dropped.

As they ran out, Angel turned round and looked back in. Spike came in to grab his arm and pull him along. "C'mon, mate. We can't stay here. What's wrong?"

"Conner. And Cordy. There were here."

*  *  *  *  *

Willow sat on one of the chairs in the rooms of the Hyperion. Spike was next to her. On the opposite side of the bed was Lindsey and then was Angel. She looked at Andrew who was lying down in the bed. He still had a fever and was hot but Lorne was trying to calm him down with a damp cloth. "Jeez, what happened to the poor fella."

Lindsey stood up from the wall. "This isn't magical if that's what you mean. It's jut a normal fever. They must have not given him anything to eat or drink."

"I'm guessing the visions didn't help him either," Wesley said from the doorway, his arm around Faith. "Angel, if you say Conner and Cordy were there then they had left Andrew like this. They were going to let him die. Why do you think that would be?"

"I don't know, Wesley. The First probably had something to do with it. Or this other evil from QuorToth. My son wouldn't kill anyone like this and neither would Cordy. It's not like them." Angel had been trying to convince himself then this on the way back from the warehouses. He had been certain that it was Conner who was running away from Andrew when he had been telling him to stop in his confused stupor. He refused to believe that his son would let a normal innocent boy die like this.

Lorne replaced the damp cloth. "He keeps on muttering the same things over and over again."

"What?" Fred asked.

"Names. War—"

"Warren and Jonathan." Lorne nodded and Willow sighed. People looked at her questioningly. "Warren was the one I killed when I was evil. Andrew's friend. And Jonathan is his other friend who he murdered. He must be seeing them."

Angel stood up. "We'll take care of it. Willow, Fred, you go get yourselves ready."

"I'll help." Lindsey walked out of them in the room.

Lorne looked back down at Andrew who turned his head slightly to the side and sighed. "Something tells me it's not just hallucinations. There is a different kind of feel to this." Everyone looked at Lorne questioningly now. "Well, don't get me wrong on this but the Powers have been fairly chatty lately with their visions. And Andrew has a different lot of visions. If he has the power to look into people, their subconscious and that, then he's a special person to the powers. They could be communicating with him."

"And telling him what."

"What he is now. We don't know anything until Andrew wakes up and tell us."

*  *  *  *  *

Lindsey watched Fred working downstairs as she collected old jars for Willow to store her things in. He smiled slightly. "Do you need any help with that?" he asked, noticing how she was struggling to collect all of the glass jars without knocking any of them over.  Fred looked around and turned to face Lindsey.

"Oh, no, it's all right, really. I think I have everything I need."

Lindsey walked towards her. "I'll help anyway. It doesn't take super powers to carry a collection of jars." He frowned at them. "Although it might be quicker." Fred laughed. Lindsey paused for a second. "So—err—when are you and Willow leaving, you know, to go to this alternate dimension?"

Fred's smile faded and she shrugged. "I don't know yet. Probably as soon as possible. I mean, Angel will probably want it that way. What with two evils and Conner's death coming up soon. I think we might have to go there and come back with our answer for the First. If we defeat it then everything else will be a lot easier."

Lindsey nodded. "Yeah, I suppose it will be." He picked up three of the glass jars. "Are you nervous?"

Fred shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I'm not the one doing the spell. Willow's good with all that stuff. I'm just there to help, probably because of all my physics knowledge and stuff like that. Yeah, that's what I'm there for."

Lindsey looked at her for a moment and could see that her hands were shaking slightly and she looked more than nervous. "Are you afraid?" he asked quietly, taking hold of her hand.

Fred looked up at him and nodded ever so slightly. "Yes. I mean, I've been in another dimension before. My experiences with dimensions have never been good. Pylea was…it was horrible. I don't want to ever go back to something like that. And Conner…he grew up in a hell dimension. If I ever got transported back to one of them, I don't know what I'd do."

Lindsey looked at her. "You won't get taken back there, I promise."

"I mean, it took me ages to get out of my old habits and become me again."

"Fred," Lindsey said gently. "Nothing will happen to you. Willow will look after you. You said so yourself that she's good at the witch stuff. Everyone has some kind of power within them and you're more than just a useful sidekick." He laughed slightly. "I'm not saying you shouldn't be afraid but don't let it take over you. We all have a lot to worry about and in the end, once we defeat this evil, we have all the time in the world to worry."

Fred looked up at him. "You think that."

"It's what I'm beginning to believe."

"Oh. Well, that's promising then." She wasn't quite sure who started it. She wasn't even aware that she had been inching closer towards Lindsey until her lips met his and they were kissing in the basement. Lindsey abandoned the jars he was holding and pulled her closer, his hand sweeping through her long brown hair gently, it an almost comforting gesture.

Eventually, though, both of them had to break off for air. It wasn't a fiery hot passion kiss, it was sweet and gentle, nothing forceful. Fred smiled when she pulled away. "Wow. I certainly wasn't expecting that," she said.

The door was heard opening above the staircase and Willow's voice rang through. "Fred?"

"Coming," she called up and they started to collect the glass jars again.

"Fred." The girl turned round to the sound of Lindsey's voice still at the bottom of the stairs. Lindsey looked up at her. "Be careful, okay?" She nodded and then smiled at him before continuing up the stairs.

Willow already had the preparations for the spell laid out already. She took the ingredients she needed from the jars and the rest she put in the two bags they were taking to them to the other dimension. Willow had set out a circle on the floor of the lobby and Fred swallowed slightly. Circles on the ground never went well, she knew that from experiences but this wasn't black magic. This was standard magic. She knelt down and lit the candles that were around in the circle.

Lindsey stood from the side and watched as they both stood in. From the balcony, Gunn also watched, worried about his ex-girlfriend going to places she had been trying so hard to avoid. He did worry for her and although she wouldn't have any of it, he was trying hard to get their relationship back on some sort of road. They weren't avoiding each other as much but there was still a rift and Gunn would do anything to stop it from cracking from anymore.

They sat down in the circle and Willow sprayed some sand in front of them. "Tue esta Dominae. Reigns of above, we beseech thee to transport us to a world of darkness. We seek information. Ala maji, ala mahili, tue esta Dominae. Grant my wish now."

Gunn's eyes widened as he watched the candles' flames suddenly grow a lot larger and glowing furiously. The sand in front of them disappeared and a light came from around the edge of the circle reaching towards the ceiling—like a large white sheet around the perimeter of the circle. Gunn had to close his eyes to stop it from blinding him but Lindsey could keep his open and he watched in wonder at the spell taking place before him.

When the light finally faded, the candles had been extinguished, the circle remained but Fred and Willow were gone. 

Gunn stood up. "Is that it?"

Lindsey looked up at him, all the time knowing that he was there. "I guess so."

*  *  *  *  *

One minute, Fred had her eyes closed, the light blinding her and forcing them shut unless she wanted to lose her sight. She could feel the floor of the Hyperion beneath her, the sand gritting her skin and the candles nearby. She knew that Lindsey was not far off, watching the proceedings with confidence and comfort. It was a place that she didn't want to leave. Half of her wanted the spell to backfire but she didn't know if that meant remaining in LA or transported somewhere else.

But the next time she opened her eyes, the place was black. It was cold and dark and a light breeze swayed over her. She looked around. Willow was not far away, lying on the ground with her eyes still closed.

She ran over to her. "Willow? Willow can you hear me?" She lifted the witch's head up and suddenly, she coughed, opening her eyes slightly.

She smiled at the physicist. "Wow, that was some ride. Slightly tiring, though and I have a headache. I didn't think I'd need aspirin." She stood up and looked around them. "Then again, I didn't think we would be here."

For the first time, Fred looked around their surroundings. They were at the end of a piece of jutting out rock. It was dark but it wasn't night. There was a sun but it was blackened and not giving out any heat. Below there were sea and waves, grey waves that crashed against the rocks below them. In the distance were hills of black and grey. To them, it looked like a smudged charcoal painting.

"Well, this place looks full of life," Willow commented sarcastically.

Fred laughed slightly. "Yeah. And I don't see anyone…or anything for miles. It's like this place is barren."

Willow nodded. "It looks like our world…in some sense. Only, it feels different as well."

As soon as she said that, the setting seemed to change and the appearance before them seemed to shift. They were still standing on the rock but the sea was no longer there. It was as though it had all evaporated and left the sear bed. At the bottom, there were a few forests, deep caverns and hills. In the distance, there were no hills and other rocks. The sun was still the same but it was as though everything had shifted forward.

"Willow, what is this?" Fred asked.

Willow shrugged. "It's as if…as if the dimension has no form of control of appearance of itself. Its reality keeps on changing so that we jump backwards and forwards in time so the setting changes. It is possible that it is moving in and out of itself…if you know what I mean."

Fred frowned. "Is that physically possible? I mean, the laws of physics prevent this from doing so…moving backwards and forwards in time? It would make a great change to our universal structure."

"Fred, we're not in our universe anymore." Willow looked towards the girl as she said so. "This is our side of the world. Law of physics probably work different here, the same as the laws of chemistry. Magic I'm sure can still be used and their affects should still be the same. They could be stronger, or if possible weaker…which would be a lot worse."

"Did we being any weapons with us?"

Willow laughed nervously. "A few."

They surveyed the scene before them, in silence until Fred spoke again. "How often do you think the reality shifts and the time changes?"

Willow shrugged. "It's probably uneven." Fred looked around again. Suddenly, the setting changed yet again. Now the hills had returned, the sun was slightly warmer and the sea was back only this time, it was quite higher. Fred could have reached down and touched it and nervously, she watched as the lapping waves threatened to spill over the side. In a storm, this would have meant disaster. "I'm guessing we went back in time."

"This dimension has weird creatures in their own prehistoric times," Fred said, pointing towards the darkened sky. In the distance, Willow could see it too, a collection of winged creatures flying towards them. As they came closer, they could see that they were like large reptiles with wings, like pterodactyls and they made strange screeching noises.

Their direction had been straight until suddenly, it changed and Fred noticed how they were not heading towards them, the whole flock of about thirty winged creatures. "Uh oh," she said.


	15. Redemption

_Err—what happened last? Oh, yeh_

_Willow__ rings the Scoobies to inform them they will be getting back Andrew. Kennedy is worried about __Willow__'s absence. (chill ppl, the scoobies come in the next chapter!)_

_Andrew is talking in his sleep whilst Conner watches over him. He and Cordy hear noises which is Angel & Co arriving so he tries to drag Cordy out. But she wants to take Andrew too. Conner, seeing this the opportunity to give his new friend a chance, says no, grabs his things and goes._

_Andrew warns him not to go or else he'll die. He is rescued by Angel & Co and they take the knife too._

_Andrew is in a room in the hotel. Lorne says that the Powers are talking to Andrew, telling him what he is now. Angels tells Willow & Fred to go to the other dimension._

_A little Fred and Lindsey romance blossoming in the basement…Gunn has no idea._

_Willow__ and Fred arrive in their strange dimension which so happens to change realities and shape at random times. As it does, strange dinosaur like creatures head straight towards them…_

_I am the biggest, idiotic plonker that ever existed within ff.net!!! And I say this with pride._

_Another announcement: I am sorry again to shahid, who I said was a girl. So yeh, I'm embarrassed as shyte. After two blunders, I feel like a complete asshole. In hope that all will be forgiven and I can feel less of that, I have dedicated this chapter to 'him.' It's a weird ass chapter._

_I'm so so so so so so sorry!_

Where do we go from here: REDEMPTION

Three hours later, Lorne was still sitting in a chair next to Andrew in the room of the Hyperion.  The young boy was still lightly tossing and turning in his bed, muttering incoherent words and clawing the air or the sheets. Lorne kept on changing his cloth so that it was cool and wet and placing it on his forehead to keep him cool. The fever was still very high and he was dehydrated. They had tried earlier to lift him up and get him to swallow ice cold water which he seemed to take gratefully.

For a moment, his eyes focused and he looked properly at Lorne before he faded again.

Andrew shook his head. "This isn't me, this isn't me," he muttered in his sleep as he turned again. He groaned again as if he was in pain. "Please get it out of me. Can't do it…can't do it…"

Earlier that day, he'd had a vision within his own feverish state. He had flung his head back and frozen up with his hands grabbing the sheets tightly in his fists and his whole body shaking. He had cried out several times, making Angel, Spike and Wes come from the nearby room to see what was going on. They could see instantly that Andrew was having a vision but in his state it would have proven impossible to find out what he was. Angel tried to not let that annoy him. He knew the boy was very ill. There was nothing they could do but wait.

Now, as Lorne waited, Andrew had calmed down and settled to just soft moaning and whispering in his sleep. He lightly touched the boy's hair to calm him down. "Don't worry, sweetie, whatever's happened to you will all be gone soon. You're around friends now and we're all here to help you."

He stopped and listened closely. Andrew was smiling slightly and singing. Lorne leaned in closer. "La cucaracha, la cucaracha, la, la, la." He continued singing the song and Lorne decided that this was the perfect time to read him so he looked at the boy who sang the song that was buried somewhere in his memory. When finished and the singing stopped, Lorne leant back and looked thoughtfully at the boy.

His thoughts were disturbed though, when Angel, Wesley and Spike came into the room. They had been researching what they had on the First and talking to Buffy, who was still demanding Andrew, Spike and Willow back. She reluctantly gave information. Also in the process, they were trying to distinguish Conner and Cordy's whereabouts after the warehouse and if true, they had done something to Andrew.

"Anything?" Angel said, sitting on the bed next to Andrew.

Lorne shook his head. "Not since the vision. He sang, though, and I read him."

Wesley raised his eyebrows. "What did you see?" he asked eagerly.

"Well, he didn't sing enough for me to know enough. There is a lot in that boy that I wasn't able to get. But what I did get is that there is a lot of pain…a lot of loneliness. He feels responsible for the death of both of his friends and because of that feels he's in the situation where he's around for the sake of being around and no one cares about him. No one understands his regret or how sorry he is because no one will ever give him the chance or will judge him."

Spike sighed and took out a cigarette. "We did kind of treat him badly. He was Buffy's hostage. Spent his time cooking and cleaning. No one particularly liked him."

"Yes, he knows that. It's not that he doesn't want that. According to what I've read, he's used to be not wanted and taken advantage of. It's his character. That's why he's so dispensable to the First, kiddos. I'm not saying it's dangerous but he's trying hard to fight for what's done wrong. That's why he's running away and that's why he's not waking up."

Angel frowned. He looked at Andrew who was turning around again in his sleep. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean, Angelcakes, is that Andrew has found his own redemption now. That's what going on inside his head. He's almost fighting with his own conscience, or rather the conscience the Powers are throwing at him. This vision is his path to a better life. He'll be able to redeem himself for everything he's done wrong but he's fighting because he's scared and I'm guessing the Powers didn't aren't making this easy."

"What exactly are the Powers showing him."

"They're showing him what he is now, what he could accomplish. But Andrew is a very scared boy. He doesn't trust people now because he's so afraid of being used. Until he can face up to the fears he has which people like this Warren and the First did to him, he won't wake up. He needs to feel wanted. Love can be a very sad thing, kids, and Andrew is one rag that's been discarded too many times."

Angel looked down at Andrew. "How do we show him if he's asleep?"

"You can't. He'll know, though. That's up the Powers."

*  *  *  *  *

Andrew looked around at the darkness surrounding him. There were no walls in this place. There was no floor or no ceiling. It was just blackness around him. _Just like that ultra reality episode in Star Wars, _he thought to himself. It was like he was standing on nothing and just floating yet he felt very steady. Now, though, he was scared. He had no idea where he was or how he got here.

"Maybe you should look around a bit more," someone said.

Andrew turned round. He fell backwards. "Holy crap," he exclaimed and fell down onto the ground. He could have sworn that wasn't there before but in the darkness was this small light with a large table. On either side of it were Jonathan and Warren. Warren had his feet up on the table, looking incredibly bored. Jonathan was looking at him, smiling.

Andrew picked himself up off the ground. "No! No, I refuse to be a part of this anymore. You wanted me dead! I'm not doing anymore jobs."

"Andrew…"

"No, Stop using me!"

"We're not the fricking First, you moron," Warren said, glaring at Andrew. Andrew was silent and he looked at Warren. It was him. And it was Jonathan as well.

Jonathan looked slightly better, though. "The First can't inhabit your inner conscience of dreams," he said as a matter of factly.

Andrew looked around incredulously. "This is a dream?"

Jonathan screwed up his face. "Weelll, sort of."

"I wish it was." Warren sighed heavily.

Jonathan smiled. "Warren doesn't like this too much."

Andrew stood up. "What is this? Why are you here and if you're not the First then what are you?" He looked around. "What the hell is going on here?"

Warren put his feet down and leant forward. "This is redemption, Andrew. This is what redemption feels like. Obviously we were bad enough to need it. You and me in particular. Jonathan was just a whole little pawn that never really did anything wrong but our consciences need to be redeemed apparently and this is the way to do it."

Andrew frowned. "I don't understand."

Jonathan sighed. "Warren is crap at explaining this anyway." He stood up and walked towards Andrew. "This…this is all orchestrated. The Powers that Be believe that we deserve a second chance. We were never really evil but our actions lead to greater things that resulted badly…that's how they phrased it anyway. It makes sense. Warren died, the First made you kill me and you're the only one left now. You're the one that harbours the visions."

Andrew looked at Jonathan. He seemed so real. "You mean…the visions that the evil woman had."

"Exactly." Warren lifted his hand forward and Andrew rocketed back in pain, landing on his knees and clutching his head. The same vision came back again of a man being dragged away surrounded by robed people. There were people watching around them, in a large lobby looking place. 

 "Warren, cut it out!" Jonathan shouted and Warren rolled his eyes. Andrew pulled himself to his feet. "Are you all right? Phew. You have them and you have an extra power as well but this one you have control over. You can see into people's sub consciousnesses; find their feelings, their weaknesses and thoughts that plague their minds. It's hard to explain. You've already done it."

"When?"

"When you were with Conner. You knew that Angel was his father. And you could sense that Cordelia was evil. That's what it is."

Andrew backed away. "No! No!" he screamed at them. "I don't want this. Please get it out of me. Can't do it."

Jonathan shook his head. "Andrew, you can. It's what you're here for."

"I can't do it," Andrew said, feeling like he was going to break down and cry again. Jonathan looked at Warren who shrugged helplessly. Jonathan just glared at him, knowing that Warren was no help but at least he could try. "I can't do it, Jonathan. I've been used for everything. I don't know if this is real or you're just going to use me again. I've seen you in front of so many evil masks."

"Andrew," Warren said coming forward.  "This is the real thing. You are the link to the Powers that Be. If you want to defeat the First this is the way to do it. They can help you. They're forces of good that are working with Angel and Buffy against the First. Besides, if you do this and we get it done and actually defeat the First, we'll finally find some peace."

Andrew wrinkled his nose and look at Warren in disgust. "_You want to find peace?"_

"I'm dead now. Look, I know it sounds all too weird but it's true. The vision were taken away from Cordelia and put into another woman who got here redemption as well. So it's true. If you don't believe me, touch me? I'm real here, this isn't all fake put on."

Andrew raised an eyebrow. "L-last time I did this, my hand right through you."

"Well, it won't this time." Andrew reached out his hand and it hung in mid air. He thought about moving it back again but finally he moved forward. His hand came into contact with Warren's arm and his eyebrows rose. He poked it again to make sure that it wasn't really going through.

"Ouch, careful!"

"Okay, so you're not the First," Andrew said, feeling somewhat better. "But that's not enough. What's your job in this redemption then?" Andrew asked.

Jonathan laughed. "At the moment, we're like your guides. We're tying to help you. The visions will hurt, Andrew. Sometimes they might be bad but then again, sometimes they might be light. It's the price. But good will come out of it. You'll be the hero, more of a hero than you were at Buffy's. You'll finally get respected and wanted and needed. Believe me, you're going to be better off at Angel's then you will at Buffy's."

"They _need _you, Andrew." Warren sighed. "Look, I know I've done some terrible things in my life but if anything, death wants you to get rid of it all. And for once I'm saying what you need to do and you're not listening. The difference is that this time it's true and it's for a good cause. Go and help Angel bring down the First and don't keep anything from them."

Andrew nodded. "Okay. I trust you. Will you be here?"

Jonathan sat down in his chair and Warren followed him. Jonathan was smiling brightly. "Always. We're always here. We work with the Powers now. High beings! But we're in you as well. You'll be fine." Andrew looked down and blushed. When he looked up, the light had gone and so had Jonathan, Warren and the table. He looked around frantically, expecting them to appear behind him or something.

"Go help Angel. Yeah, I can do that."

*  *  *  *  *

Andrew sat up in bed suddenly, taking a deep breath as though he had just swam to the surface of the swimming pool with just enough air. The cloth fell from his forehead onto the duvet. He breathed heavily as though he had been running a marathon and then calmed down. He looked around him and crying out, jumped backwards, his head connecting with the headboard. "Ow."

"Andrew, mate, are you all right?"

Andrew opened his eyes. "Spike?" He looked around. "What are you doing here? What am _I _doing here?" He panicked as he looked around. "I was in the dark room before. And…and Warren and Jonathan were there and they told me about the Powers and…"

He stopped when Spike looked at him. "Well, they were."

"I think it was a hallucination, mate. You're in LA. D'you remember? We saved you from Conner and Cordelia in the warehouse."

Andrew nodded and looked down at the duvet. "Yeah. I remember."

Spike hit Andrew in the shoulder. "Cheer up, kid. Not long to go now. You're in LA. This is Angel, that's Lorne over there and this is Wesley. You haven't met anyone else."

Andrew frowned. "Why are you here?"

"Ah…well, that's another story. Willow here but she's buggered off with another girl to another dimension. You'll meet everyone else later, alrite?"

Andrew looked at Angel for the first time. Angel smiled at him but Andrew didn't smile back. First of all he was too afraid but looking at him, all he could see was Conner and what he thought when he looked into Conner. "Andrew? Do you want anything to drink? Or eat?"

Andrew nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm hungry. Do you have any Zima?"

Two hours later, the tales had been recounted. Andrew had said how he'd run away from Sunnydale with his knife only to be taken by Conner and Cordelia. They had wanted to kill him, especially Cordelia because she was in leagues with the First. Only they couldn't kill him and that was when they realized that he was special. Sometimes prevented them from doing so.

"I know what I am now," Andrew said, sipping his drink quietly. "They told me."

"Who?"

Andrew looked up at Faith. He was sitting cross legged on the banquet with a blanket around his shoulders because he was cold. The fever was still lingering on him. He realized what he said and closed his mouth. If he said, they would think he was mad; especially Spike who knew this couldn't be true anyway. "No one," he answered. "I just know what I am, from the Powers. I have visions. They hurt but I think it'll be all right. And I can almost…look into people. Sense them."

Gunn raised his eyebrows. "Don't do no looking through me."

Lindsey looked down at Andrew. "It's amazing, actually. He does have something extra about him, more than Justine or Cordelia did anyway."

Angel stood up. "I can't believe this," he said, leaning against the counter. He wanted to smash his fit right through it. "How could Conner and Cordelia do this? Cordelia's pregnant? And they left Andrew to die because they're working for the First? How did this happen and we didn't see."

"It's not Conner's fault," Andrew said suddenly and they turned to look at him. He looked down. "Stop staring at me. Conner doesn't understand what's going on. He's…confused, a warrior with a troubled past and mind. He didn't want to kill me, he wanted to help me. Cordelia has some kind of hold on him. He didn't want all this to happen."

Angel looked down. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"But…But I'm not a fighter," Andrew said. "I can't fight anything, not like Kirk or Captain Archer could."

They looked at him strangely. Gunn sighed. "Star Wars, guys, get with the times."

Angel nodded. "No one's expecting you to fight anything, Andrew. We don't. All we need is the visions, they're from the Powers. You can stay here and be careful, all right? I don't know what we can give you to keep you occupied, though."

Andrew sighed. "I forgot my camcorder."

Spike shook his head. "You weren't gonna point that thing around here. Andrew, things aren't walking through fields now, this is getting dangerous. You should know after everything you've done. You're not strong enough yet to do anything."

Angel bent down to Andrew. "What the vision. You had one. In your sleep."

Andrew put his drink down. "Oh yeah. I forgot. I won't do it again, I promise. It was strange. Flashing images. There were these man, in these really weird cloaks. One of them was carrying this stick and they were taking someone away." Suddenly he stood up and dropped his blanket. "Holy crap. It was here. It was happening here." He looked around. "And it was you. They were taking you."

They followed Andrew's gaze which rested on Wesley.

Faith frowned. "What do you mean, they were taking him away!"

Andrew put up his hands as if to defend himself. "That's all I saw, I swear. Don't hit me."

Lorne came around and pulled Andrew behind him. "No one is going to hit anybody. Faith, keep your punching bags to yourself and leave the messenger alone. He's been through enough at the moment."

Angel looked at Wesley who was standing looking in bewilderment. "Wes, do you have any kind of explanation for this?"

"Yes. I demand an explanation for all of this."

They all looked up towards the stairs of the Hyperion where there stood Buffy, a crossbow behind her and her arms folded over her chest as she surveyed what was happening in the lobby. Silence followed.

*  *  *  *  *

Doyle/First threw up his hands in frustration. "If only had corporeal form, I would smash something against a wall. But if that was the case, the sacrifice would've been done and I wouldn't need to. It's all ruined, darlin'. Angel came in, ruined by sacrifice and what's more, failed to get Andrew."

"And that means what? What exactly does Andrew mean to you anyway?"

Doyle/First sighed. "He was pivotal. You know what is anyway. You saw it when you looked at him. He has the visions, the sight, he could be a real threat. He is giving Angel information that the Powers are sending to him. The Powers are watching us right now trying to find a way to overthrow us."

Cordelia stood up and put her arms around herself. "I know. I saw it when I looked at him. He's gifted. More gifted than I was." She kicked a chair across the room and it smashed into little pieces. "How could the Powers do this? What is wrong with them? Grr, this is making me so mad."

Doyle/First sighed. "I suppose there is no point in getting angry. Eventually, the final battle will come and we'll see who the winning side is. What we both need is a sacrifice to get ourselves on the right track. We both need one to get into the forms we want to be in. So we need two separate sacrifices. We cannot go back after Andrew. He is in the hands of Angel's band of merry men now and so he'll be protected."

Cordelia sat down tiredly. "This world is annoying me. So many powers, weak bodies and demons and we can't do anything about it. Any one of them could be useful and it's so impossible." She sat down on a couch. After she and Conner had run away from the warehouse they had run through the streets, trying to find somewhere safe to hide for a while. They could not return to the warehouse and nowhere seemed safe at the moment...

It was the First that had led them into an abandoned apartment on the other side of town where they were safe. Now Conner had gone out hunting and covering up their tracks so that Angel couldn't follow them. It was then that the First in the form of Doyle returned to Cordelia again. Both of them were in a bad mood over the proceedings.

"As least I tried," Cordelia replied. 

"I know you did, tyke. I could tell and it was your boy that got in the way. I think you'd have had time to go and get the boy. If he hadn't stopped you we would have been stronger and tearing the rest of the world apart by now."

Cordelia sighed. "Don't worry. That day will come, believe me." She sat up from the couch suddenly. "Except, that I believe there are plenty of candidates that could supply us from the forces of Angel and the slayer, apart from themselves alone. There is the boy, Andrew, the lawyer, Lindsey with the power of Calatine, the witch…Spike?"

Doyle nodded and walked around the apartment. He looked out of the window at the darkening sky. "That's true. There certainly are plenty of candidates to choose from. That is not my concern. We need two of them and somehow we need to get them and our forces are weakened now after Karl's unfortunately demise. Your boy could not do anything by himself and if he were to come into contact with Andrew again…well, let's say he might not coming back lapping to you this time."

Cordelia frowned. "Why do I think that you have some other devilish plan?" She smiled evilly. "Come on, partners don't keep secrets. If it benefits both of us then you may as well tell. You know I'd support you."

Doyle knelt down in front of her. "I know you will, sweetie. But it's a harsh sacrifice to make, especially for you."

"It depends what you're asking."

"The reason you exist is due to this particular person. I doubt that what you have deep within you is affection for this boy. What you have cannot possibly be love of the human kind. Neither of you are fully human."

Cordelia shrugged. "That's true. What of it?"

"Would you be willing to sacrifice the boy in order to save yourself and make yourself stronger? The boy has been in prophecies and has been predicted for thousands of centuries. He holds a power that he doesn't know. Not literal power of throwing flames but he is a pivotal part of history, a valuable member and that alone is enough for both of us."

Cordelia looked at him suspiciously. "I'm listening."

"Conner's blood alone is strong enough to satisfy both of us and give us the forms we want. We wouldn't need two people and we wouldn't have to go through the hassle of kidnapping someone if the person we wanted was right here with us."

Cordelia thought for a moment. "You plan is definitely evil but the sacrifice isn't that much. Not only would we get what we want. But it would hurt Angel as well. I suppose Conner would be good enough. We will kill him."

_Weird, huh?__ The whole Jonathan and Warren thing. But someone said to me I should and I love the Trio and somehow, they just had to come back. So I did it in this way. I hope it didn't weird anyone out. Review, Review! I'm going on holiday again for a week. Now I'm updating from __France__! Feed me…!!_


	16. What's Wrong With Us?

_Ahem *cough* ahem. Today's updates on WDWGFH._

_Angel, Wesley, Spike and Lorne discuss Andrew._

_Andrew sees Warren and Jonathan. The Trio have been given a second chance by the Powers. Andrew holds the visions and the sight (considering he's the only one who's alive) and Warren and Jonathan are his guides. He accepts a bit reluctantly._

_He wakes up and tells his story to the gang. Angel is annoyed that Cordy's pregnant and they were the ones who held Andrew captive. Wesley is the one who Andrew keeps seeing in his visions…Then Buffy arrives!_

_The First comes to Cordelia, annoyed that its plan is falling apart. Karl had to be killed, his supporters are gone and their big threat, Andrew, is in the hands of Angle. Worse off, he has not got a sacrifice. Together, they believe the only way they can survive out of this, who would be powerful enough to satisfy both of them, would be to kill Conner._

_So *cough* on with the story? The Scoobies!_

Where do we go from here: WHAT'S WRONG WITH US?

Angel stared at the stairs for a moment. Buffy was there and she was staring right at him. Behind her were Xander, Anya, Giles, Dawn and some other girl that they had never seen before. An uncomfortable silence followed. Wesley looked towards Angel and Gunn simply looked around in confusion. Spike simply looked uncomfortable. No one wanted to say anything.

Andrew peered out from behind Lorne. "Hi Buffy," he said first.

Buffy looked at him and raised her eyebrows. "What happened to you?"

"Err…He had a problem," Angel said distractedly and quickly moved on. "What are you and everyone doing here?" He watched Buffy coming down the stairs. Xander, Anya Giles and Dawn stayed where they were.

"I'm here to come and collect my side of the battlefield. Willow's gone! Spike's gone and now Andrew's gone."

"Well, technically, I wasn't really that much help…" Lorne bent down and shook his head towards Andrew was instantly quiet and started sipping his drink again. Buffy looked at the boy wrapped in a blanket. He had a few cuts and looked rather ill but he was alive. Dawn would be happy about that.

Angel shook his head. "Yeah, about that."

Buffy stole a glance at Spike which he returned. "Where's Willow?"

"Err…Willow is in another dimension at the moment."

The atmosphere in the lobby, if possible, got even colder as Buffy's frown deepened. Angel wanted to look away from her but doing that would only make her stronger. He had his argument. "What?" Her voice was demanding a sharp with authority. Crisp with an edge of anger and disbelief. "Why the hell is she in another dimension when she should be here fighting the First."

Angel sighed. "That's what she's _there for. She's looking for information on the First. Besides, she's not alone."_

"Oh, and that makes everything better." She threw her hands up in the air in annoyance. "I can't believe this."

"Buffy, I don't think we should get too ahead of ourselves," Giles said, taking his glasses off and wiping them. "I'm sure whatever reason Angel has for Willow, Spike and Andrew is good. Maybe you should talk to him."

Angel nodded and followed Buffy into the office and the door closed.

Silence stayed in the lobby of the Hyperion until Xander broke the silence. "Well, this is awkward," he said. "Hey, Wesley, you look different." He shuffled slightly. "Faith."

"If you are here to mock," Wesley said, "then now is definitely not the…"

Xander lifted up his hands and waved them in front of his face.  "No, no, no mocking intended." He looked around the room. Faith, Gunn and Wesley were against the counter. Lindsey stayed in the corner, watching the proceedings again but having no intention of taking part in the group unless he had to. He was technically the outsider and unless someone spoke to him, he didn't need to take part. Spike stood by the banquet behind Andrew and next to Lorne.

Lorne stepped forward. "No, kiddos, I know the emotions are on high here. I've seen monsoons do less damage. But we're fighting the ultimate big bad-ass. We don't need all this shifting anger and aggression. All the anger and aggression is settled on those two love birds in there. We should be getting along."

Anya stepped forward and took his hand eagerly. "Hi, I'm Anya."

Lorne smiled. "Hey there, sweetie." He looked around at the others. "See?"

Gunn folded his arms across his chest and sighed. "Looks like we've all been fighting each other with sticks here. None of us can get our act together."

Xander lifted out his hands. "And you are…"

"Gunn. Charles Gunn."

"Catchy name." Xander looked over. "And Spike. Killed anyone lately?"

Spike looked up to where he was lighting his cigarette and glared at Xander. "No," he said calmly. "Except the odd demon. But I could start."

Lorne shook his head. "And my word goes unheeded. How could this get worse."

Faith shrugged and grinned. "I'm in love with Wesley." Everyone turned to look at them and Wesley cleared his throat uncomfortably.

Buffy and Angel were too preoccupied with their own problems to notice what was going in the lobby. As soon as the door closed behind them, Buffy whirled round on Angel. "What are you doing?" he cried at him. "I need these people, they are part of my battle. And you're taking them away from me with no reason whatsoever."

Angel frowned and then paused. "Is that really your whole argument?"

Buffy glared. "Yes. Yes, it is! That is my argument. It may sound stupid but we are dealing with the worst evil we have ever seen and at the moment, it's winning because our forces are weak. We need everyone it can." She glared up at Angel her fists clenched at her sides in anger.

"In Sunnydale? Because the First seems to be concentrating its energy very much in LA at the moment. And what's more, it's teamed up with another evil that my son accidentally brought through a hell dimension. And to top it all off, Cordelia's pregnant and evil as well because she's in leagues with the First."

Buffy paused and looked at Angel solidly. "I'm sorry, okay. I'm sorry that Cordelia has gone evil, and that you lost your son and are trying to deal with everything. But I need my forces back."

"Oh, yeah, and when were you going to tell me about Spike."

Buffy opened her mouth to try and come up with an excuse. "You know, I don't think this is what we're supposed to be talking about."

"Really? You thought it would just slide?" Angel held up his hands. "But you know, I've gotten over it. Spike and I can get along enough and I'm just forgetting that you were screwing him because he was an available vampire." Buffy's eyes widened in disbelief. "And, as for Andrew, I don't see why you need him anyway because you never particularly cared about him and now he has a job here to do. He _has _to stay here."

Buffy didn't say anything for a few seconds. She put her hand to her mouth and turned around, walking to the desk. Finally, she looked up at Angel. The anger seemed to have disappeared from her face and was replaced by a look of sadness. "Angel, what's happening to us…to all of us. Look out there, we're all arguing and can't keep our heads because of our differences. It shouldn't be this way. We should be fighting together."

"I wasn't the one that came looking for the argument." Angel stopped. "But you're right. This shouldn't be happening. It's just…so much has been going on in this small amount of time. It's all twisting over each other. All of us, my group, Spike, Willow, Lindsey, Faith and now Andrew…we're not a form of resistance. Buffy, I need all of them if we're fighting two evils that have teamed together. We can push aside our differences to do that."

Buffy shook her head and looked down. She spoke quietly. "I didn't want any of this. I didn't want to come back and stir up trouble but I'm running low. I'm in Sunnydale trying to teach a bunch of young girls to be Slayers. Only one of them can be the Slayer if I die…"

"You're not going to die," Angel said, taking her shoulders.

"How do you know that? We're fighting ultimate evil here, Angel, not something stupid. These girls don't know what they're up against and neither do I. People are going to be dying here and I can't deal with that…not this vast scale." Tears formed in her eyes as she laid out what had been plaguing her mind every since this all started.

Angel pulled her closer and stroked her hair. "No one's going to die yet. We're here to fight and keep everyone safe. That's why we're the leaders."

"I can't be a leader anymore, Angel. It's killing me."

"You can. You've always been a leader, the stronger one out of all of us. And you have your friends…you have Xander and Giles, and Willow and Spike…they're all there for you and know you can do it because you've done it before and everyone knows that. Your job is to train these girls just like Giles trained you into the best Slayer. You can do it."

Buffy looked up at him. "Angel…I'm so tired of fighting."

Angel nodded. "I know. You should try it with deaths of thousands on your conscience and a soul." He leant forward and kissed Buffy lightly. It was only meant to be for comfort but it soon turned into something deeper and meaningful. Buffy had almost forgotten what it felt like and she held him close, remembering those times years ago when they were in love and it didn't seem that the vampire and the soul in him mattered.

Angel had forgotten as well and was glad to remember. Kissing Buffy had always been different from kissing anyone else. Out of all the loves he had, Buffy's was the kiss that meant anything close to love. Never Darla, never would be Cordelia or Drusilla…just Buffy.

Buffy smiled. "You kiss different to Spike."

Angel laughed slightly. "You know, I'd rather not be compared to him…especially his kisses."

"Sorry." She carried on holding Angel. "So…what do we do now?"

Outside, Xander's eyes flipped backwards and forwards from Faith to Wesley. He was confused. Then he turned to Giles as if he had some kind of explanation. But the ex-water looked just as confused as him. Finally, his gaze settled on Wesley and he spread his hands. "Are you _insane," was all he could say._

Wesley smiled slightly. "Yes, I think I am now."

Spike smirked. "Better than your relationships, Harris. Watcher goes for psychopath murderers, you go for evil demons."

"Hey," Faith and Anya said at the same time, glaring at the vampire.

Gunn laughed. "At least my relationship was somewhat normal." He left out the part of having collaborated in a murder and his smile disappeared. Lindsey shifted uncomfortably from his corner but no one noticed.

Faith shrugged. "Better to have loved than never at all."

Giles looked towards the ceiling. "Oh dear, suddenly someone has some sense."

Anya walked into the middle of the room and held out her hands as if trying to separate a fight that was going to happen. "What is going on here? I mean, what's wrong with us? We're going to end up having those fights like on football fields. We need to all calm down and work out what's wrong with us."

Andrew wrapped his hands around himself as if he was cold. He looked around them. "We're scared," he said quietly and everyone turned to look at him. "All of us. But we're too afraid to say it…cause it makes us weak. I'm scared and so are all of us. Scared because we might die…or someone that we love might die and we want to someone to blame. We can't hurt the First and it's getting to us."

Xander looked at Andrew. "And when did _you get smart."_

Wesley walked forward. "Ever since he acquired the Power. Believe it or not, Xander, Andrew holds a very special kind of power, sent from forces above. And I think what's he's saying is true. Our fear is making our anger come out and we take it out on each other because we have nothing evil to fight. We are scared for each other but we don't want to show it."

There was silence. Giles nodded. "You're right. Absolutely. Nothing will be accomplished if we are fighting and bickering like small children. We need to overcome this fear and work together in order to fight the First." He looked towards the window where Buffy and Angel were still holding each other. He smiled slightly.

Xander sighed. "And suddenly the room is full of Ghandi's," he replied playfully.

Andrew stood up, dumping his blanket on the banquet and carrying his glass across the counter. He was half way there when he suddenly stopped and looked in front of him. He started to sway and suddenly the glass fell from his hand. "Help," he said as he started to topple to the ground and throw his head back.

"Vision," Wesley and Gunn said. Gunn managed to catch him before he hit his head on the ground and they laid him down and Andrew convulsed, putting his hands up to his head to try and rid the images. He cried out in pain and turned, trying to flap the evil away. "Help…" he moaned again. "Don't…" Flashes flowed through his mind again like fragmented clips of a movie.

Finally, though, it stopped and he opened his eyes. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were watered. He looked up. "Wesley," he said.

"It's all right," Wesley said, trying to comfort him. "It's over now."

Andrew let go of the man's sleeve and put his hand to his head. "It hurts."

Wesley nodded understandingly. "I know."

The door suddenly opened and Angel and Buffy ran out. Dawn ran down the stairs to join Andrew who was sitting up. Xander, Giles, Anya and Kennedy just watched in amazement. Xander pointed his fingers at Andrew. "Okay, what the hell was that."

"A vision," Spike muttered between his cigarette. "That's what Andrew has now. Mind numbing visions of what will happen in the future sent by the Powers that Be upstairs. He can see what's going to happen and it's up to us to stop it before it bloody well happens. And he can see it into people. How do you think he knew why we were fighting and were scared—he's a lot more valuable than he was."

Angel walked up to Andrew. "What did you see?" he asked gently.

Andrew shook his head. "Same thing again. Wesley being taken. Robed people from some kind of cult."

Angel raised an eyebrow. "You don't think it's the remainders of Karl do you?"

"Who?"

Wesley shrugged. "I don't. It could be. But I would imagine that any supporters he would have left would have dispersed by now. Nothing is keeping them hear since Karl was killed and his dark magic has gone. I have no idea what it is."

Andrew yawned. "You don't have aspirin do you. Or painkillers. And possibly a pillow."

Gunn took his arm. "C'mon, Vision-boy, you better get upstairs. I have a collection of Wonder Woman comics you might like."

Andrew's eyes widened. "You have Wonder woman."

"Hell yeah. Those comics rule."

They went upstairs, followed by Dawn who wanted to make sure that Andrew was all right. The rest of the lobby was in silence. Buffy, Giles, Xander and Anya simply watched in disbelief at what had happened. Spike flopped onto the banquet and Lindsey followed, sitting beside him. Faith sat on the counter with her hand on Wesley's shoulder. Gunn stood beside them.

Buffy looked at Angel. "So, that's what he does now."

"Yeah. Has he changed?"

Buffy stood a deep breath. "In some ways. I think he'll grow up, though, when he realizes what the responsibilities are. Having any kind of power has its consequences."

Suddenly, the door opened and a random vampire came in. His eyes sparkled. "Two Slayers." He pointed first at Buffy and then at Faith. "You shall die. The First has plans. He shall kill you, he shall make you watch your friends die so you can feel each other's pain."

Lindsey stood up and shot towards the vampire which screamed and exploded into dust. His hand calmed down instantly as he flexed it. "Some power gives you satisfaction and I'm fed up of loud mouthing vampires." He looked towards the ground where there was a pile of dust and then at Angel and Wesley. "Obviously there are some supporters left."

*  *  *  *  *

Andrew sat up in the bed. Gunn was right; he had a whole collection of Wonder Woman magazines. He thought he'd finally found a place where he could be somewhat respected and understood. He had a job to do here and felt useful to people. Okay, so his job hurt but it had the benefits of looking into people. He wasn't nosy but it was an occupational hazard to look at someone to see what their pain was, what they were feeling and how it affected them. The vibes given off in that room were like tsunamis. From look on Lorne's face, even he could tell.

"How's the head?" Dawn ask, sitting on the bed beside him.

"Head?" Andrew asked in confusion. "Oh, it's better now." They were silent for the moment. Andrew put the comic book down.

"What does it feel like?" she asked him. "When you have the vision? Was it scary? Cause it was scary for me. You were on the ground having some kind of epileptic fit."

Andrew put a hand to his mouth. "I wasn't drooling was I?"

Dawn smiled. "No, you weren't."

Andrew sighed with relief and then shrugged. "I don't know. It was weird. You just see all these images all broken down into itty bitty pieces. It was like that episode in Star Wars when they went through the portal and saw their lives flashing…Yeah, it was strange. And it hurts. I feel everything."

Dawn nodded. She didn't know if she understood or not but that wasn't her main concern. "Are you going to come back to Sunnydale?" she finally asked, the burning question now out. She felt slightly better but now her dread was all based on the answer that Andrew would give.

Andrew simply shrugged again. "I don't know. I mean, there's not really that much point, is there? I'm more useful here to Angel. I have the visions and they can't be used for Buffy…besides, I don't want to go back there. No one notices me there. They don't like me."

Dawn shook her head. "That's not true. I like you," she added quietly.

Andrew patted her hand. "Aww, that's sweet of you. But…it's not enough. I'm fed up of being somewhere I hated. In Sunnydale, everyone judges me when I was evil and when I killed Jonathan. No one knows how sorry I am for that but everyone here understands. They've done something wrong. I can feel it in them, even if they can't say it. But they've been forgiven and they're working through it to try and get past it. They don't judge them on their past actions." He took a deep breath. "This is my redemption. They told me so."

"Who told you? Angel."

Andrew looked into Dawn's eyes earnestly. "If I said, would you promise not to laugh…or…or tell anyone."

"I promise."

Andrew sighed. "It was Warren and Jonathan. They…they're also working for the Powers that Be. It's their redemption too. We're being given a second chance to be good and fight against the First…only they do it while they're dead and I get to have the visions…It makes sense." He laughed nervously. "Better than dying."

Dawn put her hand over Andrew's. "You're not going to die," she said firmly. "You're protected. Angel said so. Technically, nothing can harm you, you're that special to these high and mighty powers. You're not going to die. I'll make sure Angel looks out for you."

Andrew laughed shyly. "Thanks."

"You won't come back with us."

Andrew shook his head sadly. "I can't, Dawn. I'm sorry."

Dawn remained silent for a moment, her hand still in Andrew's. The boy hadn't even noticed. Dawn crawled up on the bed and lay down beside him. "Don't be sorry," she said. "It was kind of our fault as well. All of ours. But you've found some kind of place here. You might be happier." She leaned up and kissed Andrew lightly on the lips. The blond boy froze and for a second kissed back before pulling away.

"I—I don't know if it's such a good idea." Dawn raised a quizzical eyebrow. "I don't want your sister killing me after I've just come out alive."

Dawn shrugged. "My life." She put her arms around Andrew and the boy did the same, in a slightly more nervous fashion as they kissed on the bed. 

Outside the door, they didn't hear anyone standing or making a noise. Buffy was good at keeping quiet. She stood outside the door with her arms cross but didn't go in. She wasn't so much annoyed at her little sister having feelings for Andrew as much as how it would affect them when they split up. She was amazed that she hadn't noticed how much Dawn cared for Andrew enough to like him when she was concerned. Sighing, Buffy walked back down to the lobby.

*  *  *  *  *

Faith couldn't stop fidgeting. She bounced around in the basement looking around her. Finally, she let a massive bunch into the punch bag, wanting to send it sprawling across the room. "God, I hate this," she said, shouting out loud. "Why can't the Powers be less cryptic. Why is all snap visions and we're expected to what—chase ourselves round the block with it's puzzle."

Wesley sat calmly on the table. "I do not think hitting a punch bag will do you any good."

"I think differently."

Wesley sighed. "The Powers that Be have never been exact in their descriptions of the future. It would probably be too easy. And besides, Andrew is very new to all this. He's only a boy—scared. He has no idea how to cope with the visions. He has no idea what the visions will result in."

Faith waited. "What? Are we playing twenty questions?"

"His death, Faith. The visions slowly wear down the brain. He will die as a result of it. That's why Cordelia was given the option of being part demon."

Faith sighed dramatically. "And what about you, Wes? What about your death which would come way before his. These—robed psychos are coming to get you. It keeps playing over and over in Andrew's mind. The Powers are obviously insistent on it."

Wesley paused. "Is this what you're worried about? That I will be taken by the robed psychos and possibly die."

"Yes! I have a right to worry, Wes. I—I just found you, I can't afford to lose you already. You're what's keeping me here. You're like those rock things—Gosh, this is sounding like a bad movie." Faith put a hand to her head. "Fuck, I can't believe this is happening to me."

Wesley got down from the table and held Faith closely. "Shh…it's all right. Nothing's going to happen to me." Wesley had never recalled Faith being this stressed in a long time. A few years ago, she had crumpled down in front of Angel and started crying after she had tortured him. That was the only time he had seen her break down. Back then, it was a satisfying sight if it were not for Angel comforting her. Now, he didn't want to see Faith suffering at all…not after what she'd been through.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said. "We have too many people with us and now Buffy is here."

"Buffy's not staying for long. She said she's got to head back for the potentials."

"Well, we still have Angel. And Lindsey, who is by far one of the strongest. Then there's Andrew and the Powers have given him more than Cordelia ever had. They're trying to make us win."

Faith nodded. "I know. But I'm still scared."

"So am I."

*  *  *  *  *

Lorne was outside the club again. He hated this particular club. It was for the younger generation of demons that spawned awful noise and dance rackets. Unfortunately, you had to have a pass to get in but Lorne had no intention of getting inside the club anyway. His interest was outside, one of the heavy demon bouncers that stood guard on the back entrance to the club. He was well built and dressed in leather, like someone out of a biker gang.

He sighed and rolled his eyes when he saw Lorne. His voice was deep. "Not again," he said when he saw the green demon. "Lorne, you know I can't do this anymore. The club manager—he saw me talking to you a few days ago when I gave information. He'd kill me if he knew I was accepting money from someone else."

"Well, how bout just an IOU then, beef-boy," Lorne said happily, patting him on the back. "But this information here is crucial."

"It was last time, too."

"Yeah, well every bit is crucial when you're trying to save the world. So if I don't get this information, you won't have a life let alone a job and believe me, everyone's aura looks pretty dismal without it. Now, come and tell Lorne his info."

The demon sighed. "All right. I'm fed up of this job. You know, I'd still be a security guard for Caritas if it weren't for you and your demon detective buddies."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry too. More than you can ever imagine but they're the ones saving our sorry behinds. Listen, badness, I'm trying to find out about a bunch of robed people. I don't think they're vampires."

"Oh, so not the remainders of Karl's lot." Lorne shook his head. "Good, I was getting fed up of those pesky young vampires trying to get in here. They'll bribe you anything for a good time."

"Any idea who they are? There's a stick involved."

The demon nodded. "I know exactly who you're talking about. They came here only two days ago asking for information. There were three of them, human, and one of them was carrying a stick with this glowy jewel at the end of it. They wanted to know where Angel Investigations was. And I told them, so sue me. They didn't look pretty bad to me. Just look like a bunch of sect people. But they were English. Overseas."

"This is important. Do you know who they were?"

The demon looked down at Lorne and saw how desperate he was. Finally he sighed and leant against the door of the club. "Suppose there's no harm in telling. Especially if it's to do with saving the world."

_Funny?__ No? Awful? All right? *makes a so-so motion with her hand.* Do tell, review are useful!_


	17. Lamithra

_Okay, where were we? *flips through previous chapter* Oh yeah. Haven't updated in a while. Forgotten what I wrote!_

_Okay Buffy came back, bringing with her Giles, Xander, Anya, Dawn and Kennedy and there was definitely some tension. Buffy was angry __Willow__, Spike and Andrew were all gone. Angel tries to calm her down as Buffy gets more agitated and eventually breaks down in Angel's arms, saying how tired she is. Tender little Buffy & Angel moment._

_Outside, interesting conversations between the remaining members come up as Xander attempts to make idle but unsubtle chit chat. Faith's and Wesley's relationship comes up into the open but no one can seem to stop arguing until Anya comes out and asks what's going on and why they can't keep a level head._

_Andrew says it's to do with that they're all scared of the coming battle and they had no one to fight. He gets another  vision and sees Wesley and is taken upstairs by Dawn and Gunn. _

_There is a cute little Dawn and Andrew moment. She wants him to come back but he believes he's now found his place and has something to do. He has been chosen to do something and he won't go back._

_Faith is agitated that Wesley is in Andrew's visions. She admits that she is scared to Wesley who tries to comfort her by saying there are many forces working with them. It doesn't work._

_Lorne goes to a bouncer of a clib that used to work at Caritas to get information on these robed men. After much consideration, the demon bouncer finally agrees to tell Lorne his information._

_Okay, that about sums it up. My fingers hurt from all this typing lol. Enjoy the chapter!!_

Where do we go from here: LAMITHRA 

Fred looked over in worry at Willow as they watched the creatures flying towards them. They didn't seem to be very fast flying creatures but as they came closer she could see how menacing they were. They had large wings and looked as though they were ancestors of dragons. Their wingspan was huge and their faces were long and pointed, like a beak. Their eyes were small but glowed yellow like a cat and their sharp clawed feet scratched in the air. As they came closer, their screeching noises all combined together became deafening.

Willow took her hands off her ears and Fred's eyes widened as she saw how they had turned black again and she got a determined look on her face. She extended her hand. "Imperious!" she shouted loudly and several purple like flames came from her hand and headed towards the creatures. Fred watched in amazement as they struck three of the creatures. Screaming in pain, they fell towards the sea.

"It's not enough!" she shouted to the witch. "There's more of them. Can't you shoot anymore?"

"It's hard by yourself but I'll try." Willow took a deep breath and shouted the command louder. This time, the spell was more powerful and struck more of the creatures but they were clever. Beginning to take the hint, they began to dodge to the purple flames. "Oh, this is not good." Some of them began to head back and some of them hung back.

She took Fred's arm. "We have to start running," she said to her. "Maybe they'll be too slow to catch up with us. But we have to run now before they catch up."

Nodding, the smaller physicist got up onto her feet from where she had been sitting with the bags and started running. With all the jars and ingredients it was hard but as she looked further on, when they got out of the headland and past the edge of the cliff there were brambly forests ahead which would be easier to hide. Creatures as large as them would find it hard to hide in all the bramble. 

"What are they?" she cried towards the witch.

Willow shrugged. "I don't know. I took the book on Lamithra for me that Wesley had in his files…but I didn't have a chance to read it before we left. Let's try and get out of here first and then we can see what we can find out about this dimension." 

They ran and the creatures followed them. But just as Fred thought they were getting away, the wood seemed to be further forward. The creatures were gaining on them. Fred wondered if any laws at all worked in this dimension. If realities could shift then so could movement and alternate universes.

Suddenly, they came to an abrupt halt. The landscape was changing again. This time, the world wasn't so barren and cold. Now, there were fields. There were green and yellow fields and there were colourful flowers. The wind was blowing and the sun, instead of just being there now radiated warmth. The sky was blue and looking up, there were normal birds and no strange winged creatures.

Fred walked forwards. "Wow," she said. "It's like something from a dream." She walked towards the fields and climbed over the fence. "It looks like home. This doesn't look like an alternate dimension." She put her face towards the sun to feel the warmth.

"Yeah," Willow said, a little more uncertainly. She followed Fred into the field and they sat down on the edge. "This is a dangerous place, though. If landscapes keep on changing then people—or creatures—could find themselves caught up in situations. Ground that was there a few million years ago might not be there and they could be falling. Or a tree could appear right where they were standing. It's just asking for trouble."

Fred went through the bag and looked through the bags they had to find the book. She finally brought out a thick, red leather bound book. No wonder the bag had weighed so heavily when this had been in it. Running her hands over the front, she opened it and looked through the contents, searching for Lamithra. The book was thick and full of details on many dimensions that were known to travellers.

There was silence as Fred read through. "It says here that not many people who had been through Lamithra have made it out, partly due to the reasons you described. Lamithra has no hold on its own universe. It's constantly shifting and tilting but none of our knowledge can explain why. There is no reason to why it changes although, scientists and oculists that made it back have come up with a few solutions."

Willow looked at her. "Such as? I don't think human laws will satisfy this one."

"Well, there's some say that the dimension has its own laws. Because it cannot keep a grip on its own reality it keeps shifting into others to stay around. Others say it has no reality and therefore is constantly borrowing off others. And…"

Willow looked back up from where she was preparing a spell. "What? Fred, what is it?"

"Wow. It's an interesting theory. The others I can understand but this one sounds very far fetched. More out of a science fiction movie. The last idea is that someone is controlling all the realities. A singular person of creature."

Willow frowned. "Hmm," she pondered. "That would take a lot of energy. It would have to be someone incredibly powerful, more powerful than any witch or warlock. It's more like something that Lindsey could do but I'm not even sure Calatine magic would be able to…change realities. That wasn't what it was made for."

"Definitely strange." She slammed the book shut. "But we're here to find some widow. That's what Karl said so…" Fred looked up, seeing a man coming down the dusty road. It was as if he had appeared from nowhere. He looked a like a human, dressed in dusty clothes and carrying a small bag. "Excuse me, she said. Do you know where we can find an old widow? A demon?"

"Old widow? Well, there's plenty of them around. And demons?" The man quirked an eyebrow. "Don't know where you come from but there ain't no demons here."

"Well, where are we? We're in Lamithra…right?" Fred sounded less certain.

The man laughed. "What conked you out, lady? Don't know where that is. You're in Kansas. You know…earth?"

*  *  *  *  *

Kennedy was with Gunn, looking through their weapons cabinet. She was impressed with the amount of axes and broadswords there were and especially interested in the old crossbow Angel had brought back from his voyage in Tibet. But whilst Gunn was cleaning out the weapons, she was staring at the two watchers that were in the office, studying texts. Buffy was downstairs in Angel's training room with Spike. Xander was there, watching. Andrew and Dawn were still upstairs. Faith was with them, beside Kennedy and Lindsey had disappeared as well.

"It's kind of funny," she said.

Gunn looked up. "What is?"

"Them," Kennedy answered, nodding towards the two watchers. "It's like watching two boys playing with some new fire truck or something. They look as though they're enjoying themselves."

"They're watchers," Faith said, hugging her knees and smiling. "That's what they do, kid. You should know. If you're the slayer, you'll get one of them."

"What, an old book reader?"

Faith laughed. "They can turn out to be rather surprising. But if there's anything I've learnt, it's that watchers are in their prime amongst their books and smelly old texts. Kinda like a pig in a playpen, ya know. But they can fight. I'm sure Giles has picked up a few moves the last time I saw him as well."

"I second that," Gunn agreed, putting the axe back.

Angel came up the stairs at the same time as Wesley and Giles came out of their office. "What do you have," he said restlessly, obviously tired out from training with Buffy.

"Well, there isn't that much more on First. We are relying on Willow and Fred for that information," Wesley said. "And there's still no luck with Cordelia and Conner. But I've come to the conclusion that Cordy could never become this evil unless something was inhabiting her, correct."

Angel looked at Wesley sternly. "You know she's not evil, Wes."

"That's not what Wesley meant, Angel," Giles said, taking off his glasses. "The fact is, that, if something is making Cordelia evil then it isn't her. She isn't responsible for her actions, particularly towards Andrew. And if she has…well, seduced Conner enough then it could be potentially dangerous for him too. She could make him do anything."

"She's pregnant as well," Wesley said. "That explains a lot. This baby, if it is even a baby, is probably evil and well…we can all imagine had it got into Cordelia through that form."

There was an unsettled silence. Angel frowned at the thought but he tried not to imagine it. He knew how the baby had gotten through. He was there on the night after the reign of fire and had seen them in that small little abandoned place. He knew exactly where and when that evil thing had passed from Conner into Cordelia. Their act had given this evil a form and it would come out through Cordelia. The thought angered him but what angered him more was that Cordelia was trapped somewhere inside herself, overthrown by her evil baby. "Why hasn't it come out yet? Andrew said she looked nine months pregnant."

"Well, we are thinking it takes more than natural causes to release this particular offspring," Giles informed. "Possibly…a ritual. The First and this evil have teamed together and both need a ritual to take on their form. That's what Karl was trying to do and their sacrifice was going to be Andrew. He is now unavailable and so….who is left?"

"Conner," Lindsey said from the sides. He walked through to join them. "He's the only answer. He's your son, Angel. They could use him to satisfy both of their rituals. And if they take on a form…"

Giles sighed. "All hell will break lose. We don't even know what their plan is."

"What, apart from destroying the whole world?" Kennedy shouted. Everyone had finally made their way down to the lobby. Spike sat on the bottom of the stairs, Dawn and Andrew watched from the top, their legs dangling from the landing. Xander sat down on the banquet.

"We need to find him," Angel said.

The door closed. "Yeah, well, save your little road runner behinds, kids," Lorne said, coming through. "We have more fish to fry and we have trouble. That's trouble with a capital T and twice the size than your normal self. Buffy, you have to take you and your friends out of here. You are in danger."

Angel frowned. Lorne never usually sounded this frantic. He was hurrying his words, sounding frustrated and if possible, very nervous. This was definitely not his laid back attitude. "Lorne, what's going on?"

"Well, it's not evil, Angel cakes, but it's close enough. I just spoke to a reliable source of mine and there are some more players in town but they have nothing to do with the First…I think. They are more to do with their personal agenda and it's focusing on our brain boxes here. Wesley, Mr Giles, you have to get out."

Faith's head snapped round. "What do you mean?"

"The Council, kids. It's here."

Buffy frowned in confusion. A million ideas tossed through his head as she looked from Lorne to Giles to Angel. Then stood up. "That's impossible," she stammered. "The Council were destroyed. The First killed them all, with their watchers and head staff. Even the people with day's off were killed. Quentin Travers died and everything. No one was supposed to survive."

"Well, honey, they did. But only a small handful. A small, very angry handful and they're planning on setting up the business again but they had a few minor lose ends to tie up. Those being Wesley and Mr Giles. It's what the muffin saw in his vision. They're coming after Wesley first and they don't plan leaving behind a pretty scene so Buffy you have to skedaddle and fast."

"Buffy, go," Angel said immediately.

Buffy's mouth dropped open. "Angel, I…"

"GO!" Angel said, grabbing her shoulders. "Just listen to me this time. It's my town. You have to go. You can't lose Giles or any of your friends and I can't lose you if this insane band of Council members decides they want to play rough. Go or at least hide out in LA until we get rid of them. But I think it would be better if you got back to your Potentials."

From the top of the stairs, Dawn clutched Andrew's arm. "Andrew."

Andrew shook his head. "I don't know what's going on," he said. "I didn't understand the vision but if this is it, then it's dangerous. We have to hide. Go." He kissed Dawn quickly as the commotion ran underway. 

Angel led Buffy, Giles, Xander, Dawn and Kennedy to the basement where his trapdoor let to the sewers. Most of them were confused. Not even Angel understood himself what was going on but his priority was to protect Buffy. They all headed down the sewers listening to Angel's instructions of where it would lead to. Buffy went down last. She grabbed Angel's arm before she want down. "Angel, be careful. And take care of them."

Angel nodded and kissed her. "I will," he said as he pushed her down and closed the trapdoor.

He looked up to Spike who was standing in the doorway of the basement looking down at him. "Enjoy your loving reunion, then?"

"Spike, we don't have time for this."

Spike stood on the spot for the moment. "No. Sure you don't." He walked back to the lobby and Angel followed them quickly. When he came to the spot, he stood beside Spike in the scene displayed out before them. He hadn't even smelt them let alone sensed them. He looked towards Lindsey whose eyes seemed to reflect and then towards Wesley who seemed perfectly calm at the situation but the atmosphere was tense. In the back of his mind, Angel was relieved that he had gotten Buffy safely out of the hotel and LA. 

At the top of the stairs were three men. Angel knew they were human. They were black overcoats, not robes and one of them held a very old sturdy sick in his hand. At the top was a blue sapphire. Lorne laughed nervously. "Oh, Angel, we have guests," he said. 

The Council were already here.

*  *  *  *  *

Willow frowned and stood up. She looked at the man who had just stopped laughing at Fred's strange words. To him, it was as though she was speaking garbage. "Kansas? But that's impossible!" She looked at Fred. "We passed through to this dimension. We saw it changing. This can't be Kansas."

"Well, it is," the man said. "Don't know where you came from. But I best be off."

The man didn't say goodbye as he wandered off, leaving a very confused Willow and Fred behind. Suddenly, Fred turned round, putting her glasses on again, looking flustered. "No, no, this is all wrong. This can't be Kansas but I know it is, I went their before I got stuck in Pylea, my cousin has a farm but far away. It looks like Kansas…" She looked at Willow. "You don't suppose we got transported back, do you?"

Willow shrugged. "I don't think that's possible. Not without us feeling it. And we shouldn't have been transported to Kansas. It's a fairly simple spell which locates in one area." 

The landscape once again changed. Willow sighed in frustration. "I'm getting very tired of this," she muttered. Quickly, she and Fred collecting the things they brought and started walking.

"Do you have an idea?" Fred asked. "Cause I don't."

"Only one," Willow said. "And I don't know how reliable it is. I mean, it could go squirky on us and in this place, I'm not sure how reliable energy waves are. But…if we can follow the energy, we might be able to get to its source and find out where the widow lives from there." 

"Oh ok." Fred smiled. "Better one idea than none."

They continued walking with Fred following Willow. The landscape kept on changing every so often in front of them. Sometimes it was nice and pretty and other times it was dark and barren. Sometimes it looked like New York and sometimes it looked like a farm. Sometimes it looked home and sometimes it looked like a hell dimension. But so far they were lucky and encountered no animals but were wary of strange looking birds of insects and especially for anything that was very much out of the ordinary.

Fred didn't know how long they would be walking for and she didn't ask Willow. She guessed that the witch herself didn't know but she marvelled at her magic. There was this powerful ability about her. Fred knew she didn't have any powers of her own. She had spent five years in a hell dimension and that had pretty much taken away most of any human powers she had. It had taken her this long to regain her composure, strength and nerves again. But she had braved through the battle.

And Willow could see it. Looking at Fred, Willow could see a girl who had been through a lot. They were etched into her face and yet she had come out strong and on top. 

"You know," Fred said shyly, "I was talking to Spike earlier. He was telling me how you'd once gone evil…killed people and wanted to destroy the world." Willow lowered her head and remained silent. "Oh, I'm sorry. You don't have to talk about it, I was just…you know, saying."

"It's all right," Willow said. "I'm over the evil stuff. Besides, Spike wasn't there."

"He...he wasn't?"

"No, he was off getting his soul." She paused, finding the bag she was holding very interesting. "I…I had a girlfriend, her name was Tara. And I loved her and we'd just got through this whole break up disaster. It was awful. And when I thought it was going to be okay again, she just went. She died whilst I was there when she was shot because Warren…because Warren got all angry."

"This is Warren, Andrew's friend, right?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah. But Andrew was never like Warren. Tara died and I turned evil. I didn't know how much power I had and I used it to destroy the people who hurt Tara, starting with Warren."

"Destroy?" Fred asked, her eyes widened. She blinked. "Wh—what did you do?"

"I flayed him…alive. And then burnt his body." Fred stopped in shock, looking at the witch and Willow panicked. "Oh, Fred, don't worry. I know it sounds awful now and I didn't want to do it. I know killing is no form of justice and…and if it really were me, in me, I would never have killed him. Just sent him to jail with Andrew and Jonathan." She stopped. "But I did, and there's no way to reverse it. It's all in the past now. Andrew's the only one left and he's here to help."

The words seemed to pass right over Fred as she continued staring. This was a whole new side to the witch that she never thought she had to see. Could this loving person really have gone that mad to kill so cruelly? Fred understood, though, how certain events lead to awful actions. Angel was a good example of that and for the love of someone any action would be taken.

"Are you mad?" Fred asked quietly.

"About what?"

"That…that you never got to Andrew or Jonathan. Do you still hate them as much as you did Warren?"

Willow thought about that for a moment. When she cornered Andrew in the alley back in Sunnydale, did she hate him? And did she feel any amount of sympathy for Jonathan's death. "I suppose…I never hated them. They didn't pull the trigger…and they weren't really bad anyway. Just wannabe super villains. Warren was bad but even then, he was aiming for Tara. He just wanted…"

She stopped. They were in a wood now. Beside them was a steep slop with bramble and it was close to night. Fred thought she heard something too and for a moment, both were silent. Around them were the occasional sounds of crickets. Then out of nowhere came a strangled low laugh and something careered out of the bushes and hit Willow. She was knocked over in surprise and she and the little thing went over the edge, rolling down the slope.

"Oh my God," Fred said, looking as more of them ran out of the hiding of the woods and down the slope. "They're…elves."

"Dwarfs!" Willow shouted.

A blinding flash of light came and then one of the dwarfs hurtled through the air, crashing into a tree and knocked out. Fred watched as they advanced onto Willow. None of them seemed to be coming to her. As powerful as Willow was, Fred doubted she could take on a few dozen little dwarfs armed with knives, clubs and little crossbows.

"Behind you!" Fred cried out and Willow lashed out at the dwarf that had crept up on her, threatening to shoot a bolt into her back. 

Fred looked around panicked, not sure what she should do. They didn't much in the way of weapons; most of them were spells and incantations inside books. She looked up again but could not shout again to warn Willow another dwarf was creeping up on her. It jumped onto her back, pushing her over and Willow fell, her head hitting a stone. Fred put a hand to her mouth. "Hey!" she shouted. She hadn't even noticed she'd said anything until after the words left he mouth and she lifted her hands up.

The dwarfs looked up at her. One of them pointed and suddenly Fred found herself watching half of the dwarfs clambering up the slope towards her. Her first instinct was to run to safety and take the supplies with her but she knew she just couldn't leave Willow with the little creatures. She lifted up a book, any book she could find and looked at the contents which referred to anything about death. From the bag, she pulled out two purple crystals as instructed. Fred stole a breath. The dwarfs were getting closer and the remaining ones at the bottom were crowding around Willow, as if discussing what they should do with her. She had never performed anything like this before and until recently; she hadn't believed magic was possible. Then again, neither were demon dimension. There was only one chance at this and she had to get it right…she didn't even know if it would work.

"Spirits of the underworld…guardians of the gate…we call upon thee to shorten the life of these unearthly creatures. We offer gifts, we bear our praises so that you may take the spirits of those who threaten us, and leave us in peace for our duty."

She opened hey eyes and noticed the purple crystals were glowing on their own accord and slowly turned to purple dust in her hands. She was left with a pale purple powder. Fred watched in amazement and let it fall to the ground and as she did so, heart rendering screams tore up in the air. They were so loud and sounded so painful that she had to cover her ears to block out the ever increasing shrieks. But her eyes remained open to see the dwarf's slowly scrunch up in pain, clutching their chests and their heads as they fell to the ground, withering uncontrollably.

Fred realized it was their screams that penetrating through her covered ears. They were dying horribly painful deaths. And as they lowered themselves to the ground, there was a blinding flash of light which knocked Fred off her feet and into a tree. Her head slammed back and she could feel the black spots dancing before her eyes. She guessed the spell had worked and now the dwarf's were dying, their spirits and souls being taken away.

When she next awoke, Willow was beside her. Her hair was messy and she had dark smudges on her face. It was as though she had crawled up the slope to reach Fred. To add to the injuries, a small trickle of blood came from her temple presumably where she had hit her head on the rock. 

But she was smiling.

And it was a good smiling. A happy, proud smile as she looked at the confused girl. "Fred, that was amazing." Fred couldn't say anything. She looked around her and noticed the decaying bodies of the dwarf's. "You cast a dangerous spell and survived. You're a witch." With that, Willow smiled once more and collapsed next to Fred, her head in the young girl's lap.

_Hope it was a good chapter. Updating is going a bit slowly considering school has started up again and I have exams to revise for. Those are never fun, especially when you're doing English GCSE's. Have no fear!! The story shall continue. Just at a slower pace. Read and Review people! Being some comfort into my stress filled life, lolol._


	18. The New Order

_Whoa, I know I haven't been around for a while!! But I have returned to update again with a new chapter. Let's see, what happened last…oh yeah_

_Willow & Fred manage to escape the strange winged creatures due to the reality change. They're not sure why it does. Either Lamithra has no hold on its own reality or someone is controlling what's going. When asking for directions, though, they are told they are in __Kansas__. (Weird, I will explain in the story)_

_Back in LA, Kennedy, Gunn & Faith marvel over the attitudes and transformations of the two watchers. They are interrupted by Angel demanding news. Wes & Giles say that Cordelia herself is not evil but something in her is—the evil from Quor'toth as we all know how it got there. They know that another sacrifice is needed and the only one to satisfy it at the First both is Conner._

_Again, they are interrupted by Lorne, announcing the arrival of the council. Buffy & Co pack up to leave. Dawn & Andrew say goodbye as do Buffy & Angel. Spike is far from pleased. But that is stopped due to the council's arrival._

_Returning to Lamithra, Willow & Fred try to make conversation while walking. Willow talks about her descent into darkness, her killing of Warren, much to Fred's horror and her plan to destroy the world. Fred asks if she was mad she never finished the job. It goes pretty much unanswered due to the arrival of strange dwarf like creatures they had to get rid of._

_In panic because __Willow__ is unconscious by their attack. She tries a spell that works and kills them. __Willow__ tells her she has done a powerful spell and must be a witch._

_Phew, a lot of stuff going on there._

_Thanks to everyone's reviews!! Especially to Imzadi (Lindsey will get a girl) Shahid!! Maliek, Tariq, FerretGirl1! And Savage Surprise._

_One message to Patrick, lol. I don't know why, but I have a soft spot when it comes to Andrew, lol. I just find him kinda…cute. An easy torn character to write and I know in the Buffy world he and Dawn would never get together, lol. I just enjoy writing him, lol._

_Wow, that's a page full of introduction writing. I know I'm really slow at updating. Homework, essays and GCSE coursework is beginning to take its toll. So review for me people!! Keep me comforted in the lonely times that something I write is doing well, lol._

_Onto the actual story! I'm all typed out!_

Where do we go from here: THE NEW ORDER

There was silence in the lobby. Nobody spoke for a long time and the quiet rang in their ears. Angel stood staring at the newcomers with Spike alongside him. Opposite them, Lorne twitched nervously. He knew what was coming and how bad it was. Andrew stood at the top of the stairs warily. He had no idea what was going on but thought it was best to stay out of the way for the time being. Lindsey stood at the bottom, staring stonily and Wesley remained where he was, in between Gunn and Faith. He seemed angry but not as frightened as he thought he should have been.

"Wesley," one of the members said, looking at him.

"Oh yes, Fisher." Wesley just folded his arms. "One of the more daring members of the Council, but then again, you never particularly liked the rules they played, did you? Decide to go solo, on a mission to redeem the Council's good name?"

Fisher was obviously the one holding the stick. "The Council had a good reputation, not a good name. Despite all its rules and tasks and assignments, it was its fault—its own demise."

Wesley frowned. "Yes, this would have nothing to do with the First deciding that you should be destroyed. It might have got in your way."

Fisher shrugged, obviously not finding in a necessity. He looked around at them all. Fisher was a fairly old man, definitely reaching in his fifties, greying hair but still with a strong attitude which radiated off him. "That is irrelevant. In my opinion, its fall is a good opportunity to start over again. Create a Council which means something more, has different rules…"

"And a different objective."

Fisher walked forward determinedly, pointing his stick at the ex-watcher. "You are a poison, a rat in the system of the Council. You should never have been allowed to remain alive after what you had done. What you are doing here goes against the fundamental law of the Council."

"What, saving lives?"

"Working for a vampire!" Fisher cried angrily. "You should have staked him when you had the chance all those years ago. The Council let you go far too easily, Wesley. They kept waiting in vain, hoping that one day you would have the sense to drive a stake through his heart. But it wasn't to be so. So now you suffer the price for all the trouble you have caused the Council."

"Oh yes, what more have I done?"

Fisher narrowed his eyes and Faith looked at him. Even she knew to be quiet but she could see how determined this man was being. He wasn't insane. In fact, he was perfectly normal but with a corrupt mind. "Do not make this harder on yourself, Wesley. It would be easier if you just came with us and we could sort out this wretched business. I wouldn't want to kill you in plain view."

Wesley raised his eyebrows in amusement. "You expect me to come willingly to my death. Obviously the Council doesn't know me that well any more."

Fisher simply smiled. "Well, these are different times. Excuses can be made for anything on account of the world ending. Are you coming?"

"No," Faith said, knocking him upside the head and sending him reeling backwards. The other members of the Council suddenly moved into action, pulling Faith away from Fisher and forcing Gunn away as well.

Lindsey attempted to move up behind Fisher. He had seen the old man with his stick and could sense its power. He knew that just by looking at it that it wasn't good. There was evil in that jewel which shouldn't be in their power. He moved forward in attempt to simply grab the stick and pull it away from him. But as he moved, Fisher turned to look at him. "Do not try anything, boy. You have no idea what this holds."

Lindsey lifted up his hand. "See what I hold," he retorted, lifting up his hand, which was beginning to glow with his anger and frustration.

Fisher raised his eyebrows. "Calatine," he said. "Impressive."

Lindsey let lose a flash of light, aiming towards Fisher. He didn't want to kill the man but most definitely stop him from doing any damage. Fisher simply lifted his stick up and all of Lindsey power seemed to absorb into the jewel. He stared in shock and his delay gave Fisher the time to lift his stick and swipe Lindsey across the face with it. He flew backwards from the force, and held his head in pain. It wasn't the force of the blow so much as the power that had just shocked through him. He lay on the ground, staring at the ceiling, suddenly finding that he couldn't move.

Whilst otherwise in the hotel, Angel and Spike had attempted to help Faith and Gunn by pulling the remaining Watchers off them. Wesley kicked one of them away and watcher how Fisher was simply regarding the display. Not far away, Lindsey lay on the ground, unmoving but with his eyes open.

Angel stood up from where it sounded he had dislocated someone's shoulder. One of the Watchers lifted up a small crossbow, aiming it towards Angel's heart but he didn't notice. Only Wesley did.

And he jumped in front.

Harper, the watcher, paused.

"Could you do it?" Wesley asked. "You'd want to kill Angelus, wouldn't you?"

Fisher walked forwards to stand behind Harper. "Enough of this. Wesley, you are playing a foolish came. Move aside. All this is over. You have lost."

Wesley looked around. Gunn was holding a hand to his bleeding lip and Faith looked at him. He looked back at her. A small communication passed through them with that look and Faith shook her head. "Wes," she warned him, a sharp edge to her voice. Wesley looked away. "Wes, you bastard, don't do this! Get away!" She attempted to lunge forward towards him but Spike grabbed her round the waist, holding her fast. She struggled in vain to get out of his death-like grip, but even he was looking at Wesley in disbelief.

Wesley didn't look at them, he looked straight back at Fisher and then at Harper. "You are torn between choices, aren't you? You instinct would be to go straight for the vampire, because that's what you're trained to do. You'd go straight through the heart and being the Council you would let the bystanders get hurt." He looked back at Fisher. "You can't change the old habits of the Council. You want to kill Angel, but I won't let you. And if you did, the stake would have to go through me first and I bet you wouldn't want that. It's not enough satisfaction for you."

Fisher folded his arms across his chest. "What are you proposing?"

"Leave everyone else here alone. Do not touch them. I give myself up willingly."

"Wes," Angel warned him sternly.

Wesley shook his head, ignoring Angel. "Do you agree?"

Fisher frowned, contemplating the offer. "I suppose it could happen." He walked forward towards Wesley. "No harm comes to the vampire and his friends. I'm glad you finally came to you senses Wesley. It's such a shame it wasn't all those years ago when you were still loyal to the Council."

"They fired me."

"You let two slayers escape. But never mind that for the moment, the list of your failures shall crop up later." He hit Wesley across the face with his stick and he slumped to the ground unconscious. He smiled as he straightened. Harper and Stewart looked up at Angel as they bent down to collect the fallen man.

"Do not attempt anything, Angelus," Fisher said, before storming out of the hotel with the watchers and Wesley. 

Once again, there was silence. Angel glared daggers ahead of him. He wanted to run out and take out Fisher now. All this could be over quickly, if he could actually move. But he had seen what that stick had done to Lindsey. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Spike go over to him and check him.

Faith stormed over to him. "How could you do that!" she demanded at him. "How could you let them take Wesley? We could've taken them out. We could've! But you let him go all commando. That's supposed to be your job. You're the one that's supposed to be in danger, not him." Tears started brimming in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. "Get back out there. Get back out there and get him." She looked up at Angel. "Please! Please, you have to go back out there."

She grabbed onto Angel's shoulders and shook him lightly but her energy was now all wasted and all that was left was helpless grief. "Please."

Angel pulled her in and held her close. He was reminded of a time years ago when Faith had begged in his arms. But this time she refused to cry.

Spike looked over Lindsey. His eyes were closed now but he was still. Whatever that sticks was, it had left him immobilized, unable to get up or walk by himself. "It'll come back…" Lindsey managed to say painfully as he squeezed his eyes shut. "Won't it…it'll come back."

Spike was about to say he wasn't sure but then nodded. "Yeah, it will even if we gotta bloody spell it out of you. You're not staying this way."

Gunn looked up the stairs to see Andrew. He was now sitting at the top of the stairs, surveying the scene below. Gunn suddenly felt sorry for him, having to see all that. He seemed to be getting everything recently. "Hey, kid, you all right up there?" he asked. Andrew just nodded.

*  *  *  *  *

Andrew leaned against the counter. He was on the phone with it in his hand and he other doodling on an Angel Investigations pad. The lobby was empty. They had left Lindsey upstairs, hoping the affects of Fisher's spell would ware off. Faith had also gone to bed, feeling completely spent. No one knew where Gunn was and Spike was downstairs in the basement. He seemed to like basements, Andrew thought to himself.

"He _what_?" a voice snapped through on the other end of the line, bringing Andrew back to the conversation at hand.

"He got kidnapped," Andrew answered Buffy's sharp question. "Mr Lorne was right…the Council were here just after you'd done. There was…a fight and Wesley gave himself up to save everyone else. It's very heroic."

"Andrew, this isn't time for a story," Buffy shouted. Andrew flinched. Even all this distance, Buffy still shouted at him for doing something wrong. "Wesley's in trouble. You had the vision to stop this from happening."

"Hey, I see what happens, all right!" Andrew shouted back at her. He was proud to say it was more of a shout than a whine. "I saw this over and over again, even back at the warehouse. I didn't know what it meant until Angel saved me. I can't fight them, Buffy, they were way too strong. They had their own power." He sighed. "All I do is receive the messages."

There was a pause down the phone and for a moment, Andrew thought that maybe Buffy had cut him off. He was about to say something when Buffy said, "I know. And I'm sorry. It's just…things are different now. In these times, we need everyone we can get. And Wesley's now very important to Angel. They need him back and we can't let something as triffly as the Council get in the way of that, you see? How would you feel if it was Dawn?"

Andrew opened his mouth. "Pretty bad." Then he swallowed, realizing Buffy knew. There was no point in denying. "I'd feel awful. And I'd want to do something, please don't kill me for kissing your sister."

Buffy laughed slightly. "I'm not going to kill you. Yet. Dawn seemed happy. I just don't want you to keep her hopes up. She's still young and you're older than her. Besides with this battle coming on people are going to die. I don't want her getting too involved and then one of you dying. I don't want _either _of you to die. But be careful."

Andrew laughed nervously. "Hey, I'm the Vision Kid now. At least, that's what Gunn calls me. He has a cool collection of comics But Lindsey keeps on joking that I don't have as much power as him."

There was another pause. "You really like it there now, don't you."

Andrew shrugged to himself. "It's all right. There's not much to eat. Angel's fridge is usually full of blood and all they drink here is coffee…"

"Seriously, Andrew."

The boy shuffled a bit behind his desk. "Yes, I do like it here…a lot. I don't feel so…I don't know. I guess it's because I have something to do now apart from cooking and washing. I have a role, I'm doing something worthwhile as part of my redemption for being evil and killing Jonathan. I can do something right. Besides, no one treats me like an outcast or an idiot here."

It had come out more spitefully than he intended but he felt strongly about it. He immediately shut his mouth and there was an uncomfortable pause. Buffy cleared her throat nervously. "Yeah, I guess that was a bit wrong. I suppose none of us knew what you were capable of. None of us knew how much the neglect and insults would drive you over the edge to run away. I'm sorry about that. It's just…as you said, you have a role now. You didn't before. You were just the hostage. Obviously, higher powers had plans for you." She finished positively, making her voice sound optimistic.

"Yeah," Andrew murmured.

"Just be careful. Angel will look out for you. And every vision, report it to him. And help with Wesley because they…"

"Buffy, I got it."

Buffy sighed. "Okay, good. Oh, Dawn's here, she wants to talk to you."

Andrew's heart leapt up and a smile unconsciously found its way onto his face at the thought of her. "Hi," he said, as soon as he heard the phone being passed over. He mentally kicked himself for sounding too keen.

"Hey," Dawn's chirpy voice came through. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Nothing happened…to me. Are you?"

"Yeah, we got back to Sunnydale safely." There was a silence but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was natural. "So yeah, Andrew, about us in that room?"

"Yeah?" Andrew asked nervously, his heart suddenly sinking.

"It was great. Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. It's just…all this fighting has taken its toll. I mean, you felt something, right? Up in that room? It felt…right, didn't it? Not stupid."

"N-no. Not stupid. It felt…good."

He could imagine Dawn smiling back. "Well, great. Sorry, didn't get time to patch that up during the whole running from LA scenario. Buffy's calling me. I got to go." There was a pause. "I love you."

Andrew smiled. "I love you, too."

He put the phone down and for a few moments, remained standing behind the counter in the lobby.

Then he turned around and found himself staring into the office. He paused. Angel was there, sitting at the desk, with his elbows on the desk and hands clasped in front of him. He was staring intently at the desk and for a moment, Andrew just watched him. Although the vampires face was expressionless, his soul gave everything away as Andrew looked into him. He himself didn't understand how the process worked but he knew exactly what Angel was feeling. It gave off vibes for miles. He looked up the stairs wondering if he should just leave and go back to his room to Gunn's comics or head into the office.

His feet started moving into the office.

"Angel?" he asked quietly and the vampire looked up. "Hi, sorry. Should I…go?"

Angel smiled in a way which didn't really reach his eyes. He shook his head. "No, it's all right. I knew you were there." He watched Andrew sit in one of the chairs in front of the desk. "Are you okay? You sure you don't want to go back to bed? You've had a rough couple of days."

"I slept through most of it in my fever," Andrew answered nervously, rubbing his hands together and looked around the office.

Angel frowned and sat back. "What's wrong?" he suddenly asked. "You're nervous and fidgeting. Is something the matter? Did you have a vision?"

"A…? No, no, I didn't have a vision." He looked into Angel's face. "Does it always feel this way?" he asked and Angel looked at him in confusion. "Every time something goes wrong, when one of your friends is in trouble, does it always weigh back down onto you? Because it's what I see when I look at you. It's just guilt. Hard guilt."

Angel leaned his head back. "Guilt, huh? I guess it does weigh down on me more than I thought. And if that's what you see…then I guess you must be right. The Powers gave you that ability." He paused. "When my friends are the ones in trouble, I'm the one that gets angry and feels responsible. Even if I wasn't there. But this time I was. I was standing right behind him when he made the offer, when Fisher took him away. I could have stopped it and fought Fisher."

"And got completely toasted by that jewel. It looked like something used to power an intergalactic ship." Angel raised an eyebrow at him. "Battle star."

"This time it's different. I should have done something. Now Faith is upset and Lindsey's hurt and it pulls down on me. Because I'm the champion and the weight of the world rests on me, like it always does. That's how it always works for the champions."

"Hmm. All the heroes feel the weight of the world," Andrew mused.

Angel laughed slightly. "I can't believe I'm pouring my heart out to a teenager."

Andrew frowned. "I'm not a teenager…anymore. I'm old enough. And besides, I have the visions. If…if they'd given us the vision beforehand about what was going to happen to Wesley, they'd send another one, showing how to rescue him or something. Isn't that how it works? I mean…Cordelia had the vision before me, didn't she?"

Angel nodded and paused again, studying the ceiling. Then he looked down at Andrew who was still looking at him. "When you were back there. Conner…"

"Was fine. He's not evil, Angel. Just…probably confused. A little bit scared about what he's doing. But Cordy's evil. She has some kind of hold on him. And he can't break free because he loves her. Sounds a bit like Romeo and Juliet. I hated that play." He fumbled with the hem of his T-shirt.

"Thanks," Angel said, standing up. "I'm going to bed. If you have a vision about Wesley, tell me. Straight away."

Andrew nodded. "I understand now," he said, making Angel stopped before e opened the door to the office. "Why you all keep on fighting. I see it when in look at everyone. They all have a reason. I didn't understand at first, when I was with Buffy. It made no sense. I was pretty much beginning to believe I was the one going to die now. But I see why no one wants to. And why I don't have to."

"You're protected," Angel said. "Nothing will happen to you."

"Do you think we'll win? Us? Our small band of desperate fighters?"

Angel shrugged. "Well, we're fighting a war. Always nice to be on the winning side." He walked off, leaving Andrew alone to think in the office.  

*  *  *  *  *

Wesley opened his eyes. His head felt heavy and when he tried lifting it, it was like holding up tonnes of weights. He sank back down, his head falling onto a head, uneven stone surface but he barely noticed. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain in his throbbing head to go away. When he opened next and sat up, he found himself in a small dark room. It only had window and it was pitch black outside. The only light came from the small amount of moon that was out that night. The stars were all blocked by clouds. 

He got up and looked around, finding that there was no forth wall. He could simply walk out if he wanted to but he supposed there was some kind of catch to it. He frowned.

"Remarkable set of weaponry," Fisher said, now dressed in a simple suit. He was sitting down on a chair which was next to a table and Wesley saw that his portable weapons had been taken. The stakes, the blades, the zip line. He didn't say anything. "The Council should have taken up on your idea form of weapon handling. That way, the deaths would have been reduced." He picked up one of the adjustable blades, looking at it.

"I didn't design them."

Fisher shrugged and put it down. "No matter."

Wesley looked around him at the barren empty space. Then he looked back down at Fisher. "Where am I?"

"I believe it was once a film studio," Fisher answered walking up to Wesley. "A small company which went bankrupt last year but even more useful for us. Nobody bothers to come. It makes it ideal for our little visit."

Wesley frowned. "You don't plan on staying then."

"Not in Los Angeles, no. Our plans then move on elsewhere."

"Rupert Giles."

Fisher raised his eyebrows in admiration and walked towards Wesley. "Your contacts are very well informed. Then again, I do believe that you get help from the Powers that Be. You vampire is the very same lover of the Slayer. And the now reformed 'William the Bloody.' Add that precious boy with the Calatine and an anagogic demon…well, your little friends are well suited up for a battle, aren't they." He glared at Wesley as he stood in front of him and the ex-watcher had to restrain himself from hitting the older man.

Instead, he glared back. "How did you survive?" he asked frostily.

Fisher laughed and turned back towards the table. "The details are not important. Let us just say that several members of the Council were given some leeway."

Wesley frowned. "The First let you go, did it? Found a few more allies within the Council that were corrupt from the beginning? Those who didn't like the rules of the council could follow it to victory."

Fisher shrugged. "Something along those lines, yes."

"And what do you propose to achieve from killing me and Mr Giles?" Wesley demanded. "A chance to live after the First wins? A little more leeway."

"And some self satisfaction, yes," Fisher replied, returning to him, carrying his stick. "There shall be a Council again, Wesley, only with a different ruling. Now is the time for the new order. And my friend, you are standing in the way with your rebellious streak." He lifted up the stick towards Wesley and the ex watcher fell to his knees, clutching his head in pain as a red hot feeling passed though, rendering him almost unconscious.

He lay back on the cement floor, gasping for air and opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling. Fisher's face appeared over his. "Do you really think the Council would have let you go after all these years? Any of them?" He attacked Wesley again and the man screamed out in pain, his shouts echoing throughout the warehouse. Wesley could see black spots dancing before his eyes and the blood rushing to his head as he withered on the ground, trying to force the pain out of his head.

"Here your trial begins," Fisher said darkly, swiping Wesley across the head just as he'd managed to get to a sitting position. He fell back, unconscious.

_Reeeevvviiiieeewwww__!!!!!!!! That is all I have to say. Oh and thanks :-)_


	19. The Source of Power

_The council arrive and Fisher wants to take Wesley for his actions against the Council. Wesley refuses. A fight ensues where Lindsey is left immobilized and Angel is almost staked. Wesley stands in between Angel and Harper (the one with the stake) and says that he will go provided that Angel is left unharmed. Faith refuses but she can't do anything as the Council take Wesley._

_Andrew is talking to Buffy about what happened to Wesley. She says he has to help find him and get a vision. Buffy says what if it was Dawn and he realizes the seriousness of the situation. They talk about how Andrew prefers it here and then he talks to Dawn, hoping that what happened in the bedroom of the hotel was more than just a mistake._

_Andrew talks to Angel about how much being a hero hurts and when a comrade falls, how heavy it weighs. Angel asks about Conner and Andrew assures him he's all right. Andrew says he understands why people continue fighting and asks if they would win. Angel's answer is neutral._

_Wesley finds himself in a small box room, where the door is open. He walks out and finds Fisher looking at the array of portable weapons he had on him. Fisher says that he's very lucky to have all the good forces behind him. Wesley finds out the First let this small band of Watcher's live and now they have come down Wesley for all the mistakes he's made in the Council. He knocks Wesley unconscious._

_I know, I'm a slower writer right now. My school have given me 5 pieces of coursework all to do by the end of October. Are they mad??_

_Oh well, that means the updating is taking a lot longer. Bear with my ppl, it will come._

_Thanks for the reviews! I love you people._

Where do we go from here: SOURCE OF THE POWER

When Willow next woke she found herself lying next to a stream. She could hear the water trickling and it was a nice sound. It was something familiar…something pleasant. She could feel the cool splashes on her face which had woken her up and she blinked against the setting sun. Willow looked up and saw the sky was orange. The clouds had a tint of orangey red to them. It was a picture from a painting and for a moment, Willow was mesmerised by it. Sometimes it was nice to look at the small things and appreciate them whilst everything else in her brain was foggy. The dampness on her forehead soon took care of that.

She looked up and saw Fred above her, applying a damp bandage to her forehead. Willow smiled. "Hey," he said quietly. "What's happening? Are you all right?"

Willow tried to sit up with Fred's help and then looked around. "Did the scenery change?" she asked, wrinkling up her nose. "We weren't here when all this stuff was around, were we? I mean, I don't remember a stream…or this field or anything."

Fred laughed slightly nervously. "No. The reality hasn't changed yet. It's the same one. I moved us here."

The witch raised her eyebrows. "You moved all this stuff? Our bags and me?"

"It took a few round trips."

Willow smiled lightly and touched Fred's arm and the smaller girl looked frozen for a second but then relaxed. "Thanks," Willow said and Fred's smile just widened and she got up to dispose of the cloth. Now more coherent, Willow could feel the gash on her forehead. It still hurt a little. The events came flooding back to her slowly. She looked at Fred who was packing stuff into a bag not far away. "So…" she said calmly. "Who would've thought, ey? I'm sure Angel will be thrilled with another witch."

"'m not a witch," Fred mumbled, bustling about from bag to bag as if packing and searching for something. Anything to keep her busy.

"You must be," Willow stated, her eyes widening. "That's advanced level magic. Even I couldn't do that when I first started. It takes a lot of practise and you just did it one fail swoop. I'm just amazed that no one noticed before…" Fred just hummed slightly like she was paying attention and Willow paused, frowning. Then she got up to take Fred's arm. "Slow down, you'll end up changing the reality," she joked. Then she looked into Fred's eyes and noticed the downcast in them. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not a witch," Fred repeated quietly.

Willow relaxed. "Fred…being a witch isn't a bad thing. I'm one. They don't burn people like us anymore, you know. Cheer up." She looked at Willow. "That's not really the problem is it?"

Fred sighed. "I don't know what the problem is," she stated, feeling helpless again. She looked at the sky in the direction of the sun which was setting behind some hill, colouring the landscape orange. Fred's face reflected the orange light. "It's…I'm a physicist. All I've believed in are the laws of motion, gravity, Isaac Newton and all those other famous Physicist…I grow up believing those things. Magic is just…hard. I learn it shouldn't be possible."

"But it is," Willow pressed. "I thought…you'd be okay with it, now that you've been with Angel for a while."

The girl nodded. "Yes. I am. Well kinda. I am when it is for other people. I mean, Cordy, and you and Lindsey. But when it's me…I don't know, I just think it should be impossible. I mean, I'm not special, I'm just Fred."

Willow smiled and put a hand up to Fred's face, her thumb absently stroking her cheek. "You are special, Fred. Everyone is. I can see it in you. You have a power as well. And it can be used."

Fred just looked down, feeling slightly embarrassed and then back up to Willow's face. She didn't know what was going to happen next. The skyline was going dark now with the disappearance of the sun. She wanted to fidget, say something to make some kind of movement. Nothing came, though for a moment until she and Willow jumped from the changing of the scenery. Fred coughed her throat to try and ease the discomfort that had descended upon them. The landscape had changed to nothing different. Just a long abandoned road like a dirty track. There seemed to be desert everywhere in sight and it was dark. The only light came from the stars.

"Now what?" Fred asked.

It was almost as if her prayers were answered. Willow was beginning to run out of ideas for their quest. She hadn't expected it to be this difficult what with the changing realities. When everything moved, so could the old widow. They could be on the other end of this dimensional planet. But from the distance came a small light. A small green light that was coming towards them along the road, growing bigger and bigger but Fred and Willow realized, as it came closer, that it wasn't that big at all. The glow was big but there was something within in the glow, repelling the light. And that thing was really small.

Fred's mouth just dropped open and Willow's eyebrows rise in amusement. Floating in between them was what looked like a small fairy. It looked like a miniature human, no bigger than someone's thumb and it was smiling at them. Willow came closer and the little fairy pointed in the right direction. Then it flew, motioned to them to follow. "Where's it taking us?"

"Right where we want to. To the where the energy is cantered. The Source."

Fred and Willow looked at each other. Willow giggled. "It's just like Tinkerbelle from Peter Pan."

Fred scrunched up her nose and followed Willow who was following the fairy. "I never liked Tinkerbelle," she said as if she had given it a lot of thought.

"Why not? I thought she was cute."

Fred shrugged. "She had a problem with Wendy."

*  *  *  *  *

Angel came down the stairs, followed by Gunn. They had both got up at the same time and bumped into each other in the hall. Gunn had been up early, practising with his axe because he couldn't sleep. Fred's travel into another dimension and Wesley's kidnapping was keeping him awake at night. It was like something was going to happen to all of them. The apocalypse was posing its threatening doom over and over again upon them. Gunn was waiting his turn but determined to not give up without a fight. If he could, he was going to prevent everyone's death, including Spikes, because it was the right thing to do. Now, Gunn realized, emotions could no longer play apart...

"Nothing," Angel said, as he practically jogged down the stairs in a rush to get down. Gunn followed him quickly. "I don't even know where to start. They could be anywhere. And we call ourselves detectives."

"I think the whole detective idea flew out the window quite a while ago," Gunn replied. "Chill, Angel. We get down to business today. Get everyone on it, all day. Someone must know more. One of Lorne's contacts….someone!"

Angel nodded. "What's left of the Council must still be a fair amount. If only a few survived then Fisher wouldn't have been able to set this thing up. It would have been pointless."

"Yeah, but they got that all powerful stick," Gunn said, folding his arms across his chest and sighed. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting fed up of powerful things dotting up all over the place. We can't keep tabs on them anymore. Maybe we should make a list?"

The door opened and Lindsey came in with a box and cups in his hands which he was trying to balance. "Hey," he said, dumping them on the table. "I went out early, figured we could all—well except you and Spike—do with some kind of breakfast. I got coffee and I think I brought out the whole of the croissant selection at Starbucks."

Gunn smiled cheerfully as he reached into the box to lift out a wrapped croissant. "Calatine boy's smart," he answered, smiling at Lindsey.

"Did you see or find anything out whilst you were out there?" Angel demanded, not interesting in the trifling business of the morning. Gunn on the other hand, seemed thrilled with the croissant and the coffee, which he commented he had been deprived of for quite a while. Now, he looked hopefully at Lindsey when Angel asked the question.

Lindsey shrugged. "Didn't get the chance to ask anyone. I don't really know many places to go since I've come back. I went to a demon bar that was still open but if they did know anything they weren't telling. They weren't even threatened a bit by Calatine but he was a wimp." Lindsey shook his head. "I think that branch of the Council are keeping a low profile. They don't want anyone going after them whilst they're setting up."

Angel nodded. "You're right," he said as Faith and Spike emerged from the basement. Gunn raised an eyebrow but gathered that she had been releasing her anger and stress from punching a bag down in the basement. He could understand that she would want to relieve after finding out that her boyfriend had been kidnapped by the same people that tried to kill her. Gunn didn't really see Faith as the emotional type but if the Council kept this up for long, Faith would completely break down. She hadn't slept very much obviously. Her hair was mussed, she was dressed in yesterday's clothes and she had dark lines under her eyes.

She looked at Angel. "I'm going to shower," she said. "Freshen up and then start work, yeah?" She had tried to sound upbeat but it seemed to pass right through the rest of them. Without waiting for an answer, she headed for the stairs.

"Poor girl," Spike said, lighting a cigarette as he watched with the others. "She's taking it hard. I'm telling you, Peaches, we better get the Watcher back or we might get the old Faith back."

"Sometimes the old Faith is what we need," Angel answered thoughtfully. "And Wesley is not a Watcher. Not anymore. He's not one of them. We're going to get him out of their grasp before any damage. We're going to see to that. The only thing that's giving them the upper hand is that stick that they have. We need to know what it is, get it away from them and destroy it."

"Then we're free to kick their asses," Gunn said enthusiastically.

"I guess we're all researching," Lindsey remarked. "I came here with a power and I spend most of my time looking through books. Maybe you should start paying me, Angel."

"Maybe if we were getting paid, I would. We'll talk about your employee check later. Right now, all I want to know is that stick…"

"Solstice," someone said and the three of them looked up towards the office door where they were heading to. Andrew was standing in the doorway, holding a book which was almost too large for any normal person to carry. He was balancing it on both his hands which was opened at a specific page. Andrew looked pretty much like Faith: he was dressed in old clothes, with tousled hair and looked tired. Spike looked into the office and thought that Andrew must have been in there all night, looking up books and he raised his eyebrows, looking back at Andrew. This boy was different from the one he knew.

"What?" Angel said.

"I-I found it in this book," Andrew said, holding it out. He walked back into the office and the others followed. The office was a mess. If Wesley were here, he would have a fit at the scattered books and papers on the floor. "I thought I should do something so I looked on the shelves for books and I eventually came across this one, which is about a gem, called Solstice which has some kind of power."

Spike turned the book towards him. "Solciste was an ancient stone, made by Asian monks in Medieval times... It's power isn't evil but it can be used for evil intentions. Somewhere in the late thirteenth century it was lost…in another dimension." He frowned when he looked up at the others. "How in blazes did the Council get a gem from another dimension? I didn't think they had enough power to do that. Especially this retarded lot."

Andrew shrugged but Angel and Gunn didn't do anything. Andrew fidgeted. "Well, they did. And that's it. See, the picture's exactly the same."

"We believe you, kid," Gunn said. "That's not we're worried about. We're worried how the Council got it. It can only be through some evil black magic stuff, yeah? I mean, how did this lot get through? Everything and everyone was destroyed at the Council."

"They were," Faith said, leaning against the doorframe. She lifted herself up and walked into the room. "Let's face it, there's nothing left of the Council. It was completely wiped off by the First. Like this Beast thing, it went after all of them, the ones who had days off or called in sick. So how come a bunch of Council workers got out, and the ones that were kind bad anyway. It could only mean one thing. They were given some slack by the same thing that gave them that stone."

Angel pounded his fist onto the table. "The First." His frustration showed evidently and Andrew looked on worriedly. He looked at Spike for some kind of comfort but the blond vampires just nodded reassuringly as if to say it was all right. Gunn just rolled his eyes, not believing that they hadn't seen it before. The First had let some members of the Council go. For what? What did they stand from the First and vice versa?

"Who knows," Angel said. 

Lindsey shrugged. "Maybe it's part of the First's plan to get rid of Wesley. And Giles as well. They are previous Watcher's and they're both pretty intellectual. They are now the next most knowledgeable 'cause the Council is dead. Maybe it's a threat to the First."

Spike poked his cigarette into the ashtray. "You'd think with all these threats, the stupid bugger would be dead by now."

Lindsey smiled slightly towards Andrew. "We got the boy back, haven't we?"

Gunn nodded. "Yeah, the First's probably shitting itself right now about that." Andrew smiled broadly. "But watch out, kid. You're out best link at the moment. Any peep on where Wesley is from those heavenly headaches and you come running to us."

Andrew frowned. "You'd think they'd be quicker about it. I mean, they want the world saved so why not just give me visions non-stop."

"And give you a frikking headache," Spike remarked. Andrew shrugged, informing them that he didn't care.

Angel was about to say something but then he stopped. He was about to say something along the lines of the visions killing him, when he suddenly realized that they would. It was the same problem they'd had with Cordy. Andrew wasn't human either and he obviously had no idea about the consequences. His brain would slowly deteriorate from the visions and end up killing him. For a moment, he felt sick. How could the powers do that to a boy? In his mind, he made a mental note to find some way for Andrew to get to a cure, even if it did mean going through the process of making him half demon.

"Angel, man, you alrite?" Gunn asked.

Angel nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, we'd better get working or else we'll never get anywhere. Get Lorne out again. Pound every single low life and high life demon out there until they tell us where the Council are hiding. I don't care what we have to do to do it."

With that, he walked out, leaving the rest of them in the office. Faith picked up a stake from the table. "Well, I'm up for some demon pounding. Who's with me?" Lindsey and Gunn looked at each other and then meekly raised their hands against Faith's defiance.

*  *  *  *  *

Buffy stared out of the window. The clouds were gathering in Sunnydale and for a town that rarely saw a thunderstorm, it was a bad sign. Buffy could feel it in the pit of her stomach. Clouds gathering always meant something was looming in the distance, like an apocalypse. Sunnydale had been quiet. The First hadn't peeked its head but there were still Bringers lurking in the distance and occasionally there were daring attempts on part of desperate renegades that had heard the First's offer and kill the Potentials. So far, none of them had succeeded. And the Potentials remained safe, still practising.

But there was nothing to fight at the moment. The First had taken its battle to LA for the moment and it was taking its toll. Buffy was certain it wouldn't be gone for long. It would be back. It needed to get rid of the Potentials as part of its plan. So it would be back. And Buffy would be ready, she thought to herself and she stared out at the darkened street.

But still…kissing Angel. It was the one thing that had been running through her mind all day. She had always been afraid to admit it. Yet after Parker, Riley and even Spike, Angel was the one that had truly loved him. She could sense it in that kiss. How could a love so perfect be so faltered?

Giles came in with a cup of coffee in his hands. He saw Buffy standing at the window and immediately knew that she was worried about something. She was rigid, her arms folded across her chest and her face had that determined but the eyes showed worry. That's the only way Giles seemed to see her these days. And for once he wished he could see the playful Buffy again. "What are you thinking?" he suddenly asked, making her jump.

"Giles! You scared me," she said and smiled, feeling embarrassed that she had started at something like that. She glimpsed at the window again. "Just things."

"A thing is always something specific."

Buffy smiled and came to sit down in one of the living room chairs. She toyed with the bottom of her jumper. "I was thinking that we shouldn't have left LA."

Giles nodded slowly. "I thought as much. Why is that? Because Angel is there? Because Wesley has been kidnapped? Or because you fancy getting in the fray with the First again?"

Buffy shrugged and smiled slightly, amazed that Giles could always sense what she was thinking. "A bit of all of them. I just feel as though we should be doing something, not sitting here _waiting for the First to come. It's in LA! We should be helping Angel. His forces are running low. Willow is gone and now Wesley is gone…and I want to help." She sagged down into the couch, putting on a face of misery._

Her watcher smiled. "I understand your desire to go and help. I must admit that…reunion…in Los Angeles was somewhat amusing."

"It was…different," Buffy said, leaning forward and smiling with a faraway look in her eyes. "So it was heated at first but then it got better. If we had stayed then I think things would have worked out for everyone. Faith is very different and so is Wesley. They almost…well suit each other the way they are now." She frowned. "It's strange to say that, or even think that they are together."

Giles laughed. "That's certainly true."

"And just…everything. Even Andrew and he'd only been gone for a few days. He has something to do now. It's like he'd…grown up. Had something worth doing and he's making an effort…not getting in everyone's way. In fact, I feel somewhat guilty."

Giles put his coffee cup down. "Guilty?"

"For the way I treated him. How we all treated him. He took it personally."

"Well, as you said, he has a responsibility now, a reason for someone to need him. But I understand you feeling. Loneliness is a horrible feeling. And at the moment, everyone sees to be alone. Such occasions are a time of loneliness. You as the slayer should know that. But it also puts a strain on everyone else. Xander…Anya…now Dawn. Even Angel and Mr Gunn looked slightly lost. Things will not be easy Buffy."

"I know. And I keep telling myself that and you keep telling me that. I'm not deaf. I'm working on it." There was an uncomfortable silence. "Andrew rang earlier. He said that Wesley had been captured by the Council—a man called Fisher?"

Giles nodded. "Yes. I know of him."

Buffy sighed. "Angel is running a riot trying to find him and we're stuck here. But he says he'll need help. And it's perfect for the Potentials. When Angel locates where the Council are holding Wesley, we're going to back to Sunnydale and they're going to fight their way out of it." She turned back towards the window. "The Potentials have no idea what they're getting themselves into."

*  *  *  *  *

Wesley screamed and tried to twist away from the source of the pain. It seemed to engulf him, sending shock waves through his body. He gasped in pain as the torture stopped and he lay on the floor, gasping for breath. The cold concrete had never seemed so appealing before. He pressed his face into the ground but opened his eyes to see his surroundings.

It had been going on for hours, Wesley was sure of it. When Fisher dragged him back to lock him in his box room it had been dark. When he had awoken next due to a sharp searing pain, it was still dark. And he felt tired. Whatever Fisher wanted to do, he wanted to do quickly. Wesley didn't even have enough time to determine what was going on when the shock wave of pain had ripped through his body mercilessly and continued until he was almost unconscious. 

Now he looked around him. He was still in that stupid dark box room, only standing in front of him was Harper and he held a stick in his hand. The glowing jewel seemed to be pointing right at Wesley. "What _is that?" he asked, his voice catching from the lack of water._

The pain was subsiding, although there was a ringing in his ears.

Harper shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't give a toss. It's the best thing that's been handed out to us. It's for getting rid of the likes of you."

There was an edge of anger and disgust in his voice. Wesley sat up on his elbows and then pulled the rest of himself up to lean against the wall. Harper watched him carefully. "What is it, Harper," Wesley said, an edge of menace to his voice. "What is your _reason for all this? Why the hell would the First keep a skinny, pathetic Watcher like you?"_

The jewel seemed to glow and Wesley arched his head as pain exploded into it again. He shook for it to go away, his scream echoing around him and then it disappeared, leaving stars in his eyes. He could hear Harper speaking. "Do you want to know why?" Harper said coming forward. The jewel was almost right up against Wesley's face. If he blasted him, it would be the end. "Do you really want to know why I want to do this?"

Wesley nodded as calmly as he could as he fought for breath. "Yes, I do."

"You're a disgrace, Wesley. You give Watchers a bad name, that's the first one. But this is even more personal. You had in your care, the Slayer. And then two! Two bloody slayers and you let them go with a shade of incompetence. One went psycho and the other quit. We were left with nothing, almost jobless, no reason to continue. The remaining Watcher's generation was over because they couldn't work with a slayer who wouldn't take orders."

Wesley narrowed his eyes as Harper continued.

"You had what most Watcher's dreamed of. The Council didn't even think it was possible that _two _slayers could exist at the same time but they did. You had it. And you lost it…for _all _of us."

Wesley could see that Harper was growing mad again. The young watcher, so blinded by his passion had failed to see the drawn line of where good and evil were wrong. He didn't know the score, he just wanted some revenge. And this was how he was getting it. A long time ago, Wesley knew he would have felt somewhat sympathetic towards him. Now all he felt was anger. So as Harper prepared to release another blast of energy, fuelled by his anger, he kicked out with all his strength.

The stick rolled to the floor and Harper shouted out loud. He scrambled to get it but Wesley kicked him forward, sending him sprawling. As the ex-water prepared to continue, Harper stood up, knocking Wesley onto his back and he winced slightly as he head connected with the hard floor. With a burst of energy, he shot up and pushed Harper into the wall. 

"Do you want to know what darkness really is, you idiot?" Wesley said harshly, shaking him slightly. "It's not a place you want to go. I've been there. And it's cold. It's harsh. It's nothingness. Do you really want to go there?"

"I've been there!" Harper cried back. "I've been to nothing."

Wesley tightened his hold. From the side of his face, he could feel the blood begin to drip down. "It extends beyond nothing. It's when you suddenly realize, that you really have no care in the world for anything. There is nothing out there that gives a toss about you and vice versa. You delude yourself with bad images; you focus on the darkness within you. And if you want to go deep, you go and meddle with some dark arts. Dabble in the occult a bit and then you'll be really bad."

He could see Harper's eyes taking on a new light, as if suddenly, that had seemed really appealing. Wesley wondered if that's what Karl had looked like when he first realized. He pulled out a knife that was lying in Harper's belt and with one quick thrust, pushed it into Harper, into his chest where his heart was.

"Unfortunately, you'll never have the chance to know."

Harper's eyes changed to one of tempting glee to shock. He looked down at the knife and then back at Wesley. They widened in terror but he didn't say anything when Wesley let go. He just slid down the wall, blood pouring out profusely. 

Wesley stood back and watched the young watcher die in front of him. And once again, he felt that nothingness where he simply didn't care anymore.

Review!!!!!!


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